#by the way a lot of this draws on ideas inspired by 'letters to a young poet' by rainer maria rilke if you're interested

[greenerteacups]

Hi! I am an ardent fan of your writing, and I hope to be as sorted and planned as you some day in my own writing journey.

My question is: you have a keen eye when it comes to planning character personality, dynamics, and such. I've also been wading through your ask replies, and your insights into how you write people and how you make them play off of each other is so wonderful to read. If it's not too personal a q, how did you learn how to write like this? Did you go to school for writing, does it come from years of observing people, do you have reading list recs for "how to write real people and real interactions"?

Thanks! This is a really flattering question. I'll try to answer it honestly, because I wish someone had been brutally honest about this with me when I was a young writer.

I didn't go to school for writing. I started doing it when I was about nine years old. It sucked very badly. I kept writing throughout high school, and it still mostly sucked, but some of it was occasionally interesting. ("Interesting" here does not mean "good," by the way.) I took a break in college, and then came back. I've been writing ever since. Sometimes, I feel good about it. A lot of the time, I don't!

I hate giving this advice, because I remember how it feels to get it, and it's the most uninspiring, boring-ass, dog shit advice you can get, but it's also the only advice that is 100% unequivocally true: you have to write, and specifically, you have to write things that suck.

I do not mean that you should make things that suck on purpose. I mean that you have to sit down and try your absolute hardest to make something good. You have to put in the hours, the elbow grease, the blood, sweat, and tears, and then you have to read it over and accept that it just totally sucks. There is no way around this, and you should be wary of people who tell you there is. There is no trick, no rule, no book you can buy or article you can read, that will make your writing not suck. The best someone else can do is tell you what good writing looks like, and chances are, you knew that anyway — after all, you love to read. You wouldn't be trying to do this if you didn't. And anyone who says they can teach you to write so good it doesn't suck at first is either lying to you, or they have forgotten how they learned to write in the first place.

So the trick is to sit there in the miserable doldrums of Suck, write a ton, and learn to like it. Because this is the phase of your path as an artist when you find what it is you love about writing, and it cannot be the chance to make "good writing." This will be the thing that bears you through and compels you to keep going when your writing is shit, i.e., the very thing that makes you a writer in the first place. So find that, and you've got a good start.

Some people know this, but assume that perseverance as a writer is about trying to get to the point where you don't suck anymore. This is not true, and it is an actively dangerous lie to tell young writers. You are not aiming to feel like your writing doesn't suck. You are aiming to write. You are aiming to have written. Everything else is dust and rust. And of course, you'll find things you like about your pieces, you'll find things you're proud of, you'll learn to love the things you've made. But that little itch of self-criticism, in the back of your brain — the one that cringes when you read a clunky line, or thinks of a better character beat right after it's far too late to change — that's never going away. That's the Writer part of you. Read Kafka, read Dickens, read Tolstoy, you will find diary entries where they lament how absolutely fucking atrocious their writing was, and how angry they are that they can't do better. A good writer hates their sentences because they can always imagine better ones. And the ability to imagine a better sentence is what's going to make you pick up the pen again tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.

Which is what I mean, and probably what all those other annoying, preachy advice-givers mean, when we say: a good writer is just someone who writes every day. It's that easy, and that hard.

#by the way a lot of this draws on ideas inspired by 'letters to a young poet' by rainer maria rilke if you're interested #that's a formative text for me as an artist #it won't teach you how to write but it will teach you how to think perhaps #and once you know how to think. well. life is just pretty good #and i can't say the writing gets easier but when life is pretty good i find myself enjoying it a lot more #this word vomit was prompted by the question 'how do you write real people and real interactions' #because that's like — i'm not trying to be pedantic but— #that's kind of just 'how do you write literature'? #because that's all literature is. what are human beings? how do you write a person? how do they interact with each other? #like shoutout to the void if you know for sure how to write real interactions then please for the love of god tell the rest of us #because i think most of all authors in history have just been giving it our best stab #'this is how the world looks for me. is it how the world looks for you?' #so my advice on that score is: try to see how the world looks for you #and then try to share it with me #don't worry about whether it looks the same for me. it won't

[code-es]

The women who laid the foundation of tech

EDIT: I noticed that this post ended up being reblogged by terfs. If you're transphobic this post is not for you to reblog. I want to celebrate everyone who is not a cis man in this industry, including trans women and nonbinary people in tech, and it was my mistake to only include cis women in this post when there are so many trans women and nonbinary people who have done great things in tech as well. Trans women are women and just as important.

Here you can read about trans ppl in tech, and please do:

https://www.thecodingspace.com/blog/2022-03-01-six-trans-programmers-who-shattered-the-lavender-ceiling/

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/transgender-tech-visibility-obstacles-remain/story?id=76374628

The morning of women's day i attended a super inspiring seminar about being a woman in tech at a large tech company in my city, and now I'm inspired to share what I learned with all of you!

I didn't have time to finish this post on women's day, but it's not too late to post now: every day is a day to celebrate women!

Women actually laid the foundation for a lot of the tech industry.

For example, the first computer, ENIAC, was programmed completely by women! While men were the behind the scenes engineers, it was women who did all the actual programming of ENIAC.

The women who made up the team responsible for programming it were called Jean Bartik, Kay McNulty, Betty Holberton, Marlyn Wescoff, Frances V. Spence and Ruth Teitelbaum.

I think one woman who is finally getting her overdue recognition is Ada Lovelace. She was a mathematician (also often referred to as the first programmer) who created the first algorithm in 1842, which wasn't recognized until 1953! However, since none of her machines were ever completed it was never tested in practice during her time.

She has since been celebrated by giants such as google, and she has given name to a programming language (Ada). She was also the first person to write about what is today known as AI. Back when she was practicing, computers were simply thought of as calculators. But she had an idea that if computers can understand numbers, then that can be translated to letters, and in turn that can lead to computers being able to handle words, and eventually even write, draw and create music.

Hedy Lamarr was a famous Hollywood actress in the 40's, but she was also an inventor who laid ground for what we use today for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS services.

During WW2 she wanted to contribute positviely to the military efforts against the Nazis, and she tried to figure out how to radio control torpedoes. In 1942 she patented her technology "Secret Communications System", also known as frequency hopping, which laid the foundation for the technology we use today for Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. It wasn't until 1962 that it was first used for its intended purpose, during the cuban missile crisis.

Grace Hopper invented the first compiler, called A-0, in 1955, and was also part of the Univac team, which was the company also responsible for building ENIAC. She also initiated work on the COBOL programming language.

She was also the one to coin the term "bug" in 1947. Computers back then had lights to visualize their working process (which was also a womans idea to implement btw) and bugs would be attracted to the lights, but usually that was no issue - until a bug made its way into a tube which caused the computer to stop working. Hopper taped the bug to a piece of paper and logged what caused the crash - a bug.

Dorothy Vaughan (left), alongside colleagues such as Katherine Johnson (middle) and Mary Jackson (right), was a mathematician at NASA (called NACA when she started) who worked on the orbit for the first ever manned spaceflight and later also on Apollo 11 that would take humanity to the moon!

When Vaughan started at what was then called NACA, segregation was still prevalent in the US and she was not allowed in the same areas in the office as her white colleagues. Another department was formed for the black staff, and when the director of said department unexpectedly died, she was appointed as the new director and thus became the first ever black woman at that position at NACA/NASA. In 1958 when NACA becomes NASA segregation is forbidden, and that is when Vaughan and her colleagues Johnson and Jackson started working on programming the orbit and later also Apollo 11.

Continuing on the same track of NASA and space, Margaret Hamilton was the Apollo project's first actual programmer. Hamilton became the director of software engineering at NASA in 1965, and she was also the person to first coin the term !

In the image above, she stands next to all the handwritten code that was used to send humanity to the moon. During the early stages of the project when she would speak of "sofware engineering", software development was not taken as seriously as other forms of engineering, and it wasn't regarded as a science, either. She wanted to legitimize software development as an engineering discipline, and overtime the term "software engineering" gained the same respect as any other technical discipline.

And lastly, if you're a woman in STEM, I want to highlight and celebrate you! Being a woman in a male dominated industry is not easy, we often suffer from sterotype threat and are not seen as our own individuals, but rather "the woman" in a room full of men. But just as these women, I'm sure you will achieve greatness!!

Here are some additional resources if you'd like to learn more:

https://www.history.com/news/coding-used-to-be-a-womans-job-so-it-was-paid-less-and-undervalued

https://digitalfuturesociety.com/programming-when-did-womens-work-become-a-mans-world/

And this was mainly my source for this post, but it's unfortunately only available in Swedish:

Thank you for reading ✨

#womens day #women in stem #woman in stem #woman in tech #girl coder #girl programmer #programming #programmer #software #software development #software developer #software engineering #javascript #python #css #html #react.js #django #php #mysql #sql #database #frontend developer #frontend development #webdev #web development #backend development #history #women in tech #women in history

[hillbillyoracle]

How to Create Downtime Menus

As a lot of my posts are, this one was inspired by a conversation with my partner. She seemed to think some of my ideas were helpful so I thought I'd write them up and share them here.

I use a combination of these ideas to do two things - redirect myself when I get stuck doomscrolling/freezing/obsessing and redirect myself when I'm stuck on the "must be good, must be productive" hamster wheel and can't seem to stop doing chores until I'm fucking exhausted or have pushed/hurt myself. Knowing you need to stop is one thing - knowing what to do instead is another.

Not all of these will work for every person at every time. Pick one or two that seem interesting and give them a whirl.

Habit of the Month

This is a small habit I can do in about 5-10 minutes a day. These are sometimes habits that I want to audition for my lineup or just want to focus on as a way of rebooting a given area of my life. Physical habits have been things like stretching, a walk, putting on moisturizer, drinking water, making tea, etc. Emotional habits have been things like stream of consciousness journaling, bullet journaling, recording myself venting, etc. Spiritual habits have been things like meditating, altar work, reading sutras, tarot readings, etc.

If I'm stuck in a loop and I haven't done that task yet, it serves as an easy win that feels moderately meaningful to accomplish. This is easier to do than longer or less interesting tasks.

Side Quests

These are little challenges I'd like to accomplish that are 100% fun and completely optional. They are specific and can me completed within a given time frame - usually a month. They usually aren't the most meaningful to keep them more fun and so I'm not letting myself down if I don't opt to complete it.

They've been things like:

The Minor Expert Challenge - read three books in one subject

The Kanopy Critic Challenge - use up all of my Kanopy credits that month

The Regal Freegal Challenge - download all the albums/songs I can on Freegal that month

The Monthly Playlist Challenge - create a playlist of the month where each song represents something about each day of that month; like a playlist diary

The Reverse Tarot Draw Challenge - pick/list a tarot card you best think represents each day of a given month or other time period; like a tarot card diary

The 100 Words Challenge - learn 100 words in a foreign language

As you can see, I prefer things that are pretty low energy friendly so I can work on them on days I'm super tired. Just little chronic illness things.

Alphabet Lists

I use these for my cleaning routines actually but I also have been trying them with my downtime. The way it works is you list out the alphabet and choose one self care or hobby task you'd like to do for each. They don't have to start with the same letter, it just serves as an easy way to limit how many you pick and keep track of what you've done. It's satisfying to cross off the whole list.

Tasks I put on these are things like

A - paint my nails

B - crochet a charity hat

C - write 5 letters for Letters Against Isolation

D - send a letter to a friend

E - play a solo rpg

F - play a solo board game

G - complete a puzzle

etc

They're fun tasks I'm not currently doing as often as I'd like but chill enough that it doesn't matter when precisely I do them more often. I try to pick tasks that are roughly 30 minutes to an hour long though some definitely take longer. I like to complete these roughly monthly but I try to complete a whole list before I start it again. Anything I just did not feel like doing and kept skipping gets scratched out and I rewrite a new list with new item to replace those. And I start again.

Whenever I'm like ugh I don't know what to do with myself, I try to pick at least one thing on the list and give it a try for 5 minutes. If I don't like it after that I can just put it away and pick something else.

10x10

10x10 lists are a different take on a similar idea. It's a list of 10 things you'd like to do at least 10 times in a given time period. Mine tend to be on the seasonal or annual timescale but maybe you're intense and prefer a monthly one. If I don't complete them in a given time period, I just continue with it until I'm done. Better to complete it on an altered timeline than not at all.

For me these tend to be slightly bigger tasks that take a little more planning or energy. I'm not totally sure why I use them this way since you could definitely use them for smaller tasks but that's just the space they occupy for me.

So examples of what would be on my list would be things like:

Grab a hot chocolate from the coffee shop (x10)

Complete a PokemonGo event (x10)

Have a spa night and watch a movie (x10)

Do something extra nice for my partner (x10)

Try a new game (x10)

Find a geocache (x10)

etc

Filing up a little 10x10 grid is pretty satisfying. Much more so than anxietying myself into my bed for the equivalent amount of time.

Seasonal Bucket Lists

I really enjoy making these though I really struggle with the current season (Spring) given my allergies. There's this idea my partner has told me about in DBT where you try to recall positive moments to help "build a life worth living". I think seasonal bucket lists are really good at helping with this for me. I look back on the seasons I made these lists way more fondly than the ones I didn't.

They generally center on seasonal activities I don't want to miss out on. So for summer that's stuff like going for a night swim/skinny dip, getting 5-10 good cloud photos, playing a yard game (like cornhole), seeing a street concert, etc. I also try to take pictures of those (if they don't already involve them) so I can reflect on them later and enjoy the residual happiness.

Conclusion

The point of these isn't to overwhelm you with options. It's just to have enough ideas prepped that you can find something no matter your energy level or time you're working with.

Remember - rest and enjoying yourself is necessary for human health. Folks how get good rest and experience flow states more regularly tend to heal better. People who spend time on what they enjoy are often more enjoyable to be around.

It's never a waste of time to make yourself happy.

#life advice #adhd #love a good list

[astrodances]

"Now I've had the time of my life No, I never felt like this before Yes, I swear it's the truth And I owe it all to you"

This is a very, very special drawing for me. ✨

In September of last year, I watched Dancing With The Stars' "Step Into the Movies" special again, at the end of which they recreate "The Time of My Life" scene from Dirty Dancing. And that sent me on a nostalgia trip back to my high school theater days over a decade ago now, where the drama club accepted my idea to do a "Time of Our Lives" theme, and a performance for that song à la Glee. Mind you, I was mainly the stage manager/techie sort, but I did some scenes for the showcases, and participated in this song with my then-boyfriend, along with two other couples.

And while we were hanging out in the green room backstage, a friend took some pictures of us. Including the one that directly inspired this drawing of Webby + Lena.

This started out as a memory remix of that photo, after watching the DWTS special, because I thought these two lovebirds would be really cute subjects for it.

But once I got going, it turned into a love letter, for many things.

As part of the remix aspect of it, I now picture myself in Lena's spot in the photo, getting to have the short hair I wish I had had back then, and getting to wear a suit and tie! (Yes, in the original photo, I am wearing the dress and red bow Webby's sporting here, and I have long hair. 🙈 Though I will say here that the little heart necklace she's wearing is exactly like the one I had, too! :)) Drawing this was really cathartic for my nonbinary self. 💜

And as for Webby, in this remix, she represents someone that, in retrospect, I wish I had shared this moment with from back then. In many ways, she really was the Webby to my Lena. 💜💖💝

(Literally) beyond the subjects of this though, this is indeed very much a love letter to a lot of things, to passions. The background is pretty much a replica of the drama classroom wall we were in front of for the photo, at least as far as layout goes, with a few direct recreations of things that were on the wall and on the table there. Everything else was me being a passionate (theatre) nerd.

(Details (many details) of said nerdiness and alternate versions below the cut!)

I've included un-blurred and background-only versions (and a version with drop shadow lines on the girls, because why not? it's a cool effect!) below, but I just want to point out the details, because I'm so dang proud of this.

The posters/programs for The Phantom Blot of the Opera, Featherspray, Chickago, and My Fair Dewey are obvious duck-parody references to their real-world counterparts (with the latter being the exact poster they use in DuckTales, in Dewey's dream in "Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!" So thanks, Dewey! 😂). The Featherspray one was also included because Hairspray was one of the shows we did in high school! And lemme just say, creating theater posters is really fun!!

The MJ the Musical poster and the half-shown Notre Dame de Paris "Duckbill" right behind Lena's head are particularly special to me, since they (along with Phantom) are my favorite musicals, and getting to draw those two was especially fun!

The L'Orange Theater poster in the top-right is a bunch of duck easter eggs in one - the L'Orange Theater is mentioned and seen in the very first episode of DuckTales 1987, and of course, there's Aquarioon from DT17! Looks like it toured in Duckburg a long time ago. 😉

And the sheet music is the DuckTales theme! (Or at least the left side of it :P)

The "Congrats" card, calendar (the whale for upper half was my own touch), folder, page of random backstage stuff behind Lena's head (which includes little Star Trek and Darkwing Duck references), and golden "Theatre" card (with my old director's favorite quote) are directly from the photo (or at least based on what I could see through its blurriness 😝), as is the very edge of a cast photo in the upper-right. The purple note (totally not with any secret messages whaaaaat) below that, the certificate of excellence, and the little pride heart pins everywhere are little garnishes/dedications. 😊

The stage/theater diagram below the certificate is really cool, because that's a direct recreation (+ another hidden message) of a project a friend and I did for stagecraft back in our freshman year - I was even able to copy my own handwriting for the labels! 😄😂

The "Time of Our Lives" poster is a reference to the showcase I mentioned above that inspired all this, though the real-life poster looked very different, from what I remember.

The green bag below is sorta a nod to the secret pal exchanges we used to do during shows. 😉

And finally:

The Glittering Goldie show poster is me just having an absolute blast drawing her once again and coming up with something for her Blackjack days! And bonus - I'll be posting a gradient-only version of Goldie tomorrow! Really happy with how she turned out!

And the "All the World's a Stage" poster is me combining all of my theatre nerdiness with my passion for space and a good pun! 😁

ANYWAY...

I learned a lot with this drawing, about creating and about myself.

And I just had so, so much fun with it - it was all love, all passion, all happiness for this one. 💜💖💝

Wishing the same for all of you. ✨

Love, Astro 💜

#DuckTales #Webby Vanderquack #Lena Sabrewing #weblena #my art #long post #I just have a lot of feelings for this one 🥹 #(the post itself kinda is a love letter? for future me as much as past me and present me. yeah let's go with that) #for real though still cackling over my design for the Phantom Blot of the Opera poster XD

[fairy-writes]

Hello there 👋

I was wondering if you could write a one-shot for Uta?? Something fluffy w/ a shy/sweet human!reader 😊

Thanks in advance! 💜

DON’T YOU DARE (MAKE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU)

Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!

__________________________________________________________________________

Fandom(s): Tokyo Ghoul

Pairing(s): Uta x Gender Neutral!Human!Reader

Genre(s)/Tag(s): 

Notes: Songfic with the song “Don’t You Dare (Make Me Fall in Love with You) by Kaden MacKay

__________________________________________________________________________

When Uta first realized he was in love with you, admittedly, he panicked a little. 

You were a human. He was a ghoul. It wasn’t a relationship that was supposed to work. 

He couldn’t be in love. That was just absurd. He had more exciting things on his plate than love.

Don't you dare make me fall in love with you

Don't you dare enchant me with those eyes

If I fell through your skies,

There's no way you would catch me

There's a tear in my heart,

But your patch wouldn't match me

Uta first met you when he was at Anteiku, and you happened to walk in. It was busy. Most, if not all, of the tables were full, and when you began to approach, he got an idea of what was happening. 

“Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full.” You ask shyly, and he gets the feeling that you’re nervous. Which is understandable with his appearance. He was used to it. 

He nods once, and your expression relaxes as you sit down. The tenseness of your shoulders eases, and you pull out a sketchbook and flip to a new page as Touka brings over your drink. You smile at her and whisper a “thank you.”

You sketch in silence until he feels the need to have a conversation. It’s more of a whim, really, the urge to get to know a human to learn if they’re all like the CCG and Doves. 

“What are you drawing?” He asks, and you jump. But you turn around and show him nonetheless, and he’s blown away. 

It’s rough, with stray lines in some places, but it’s a perfect picture of himself, reclining in the chair and his coffee in hand.

You even got the lettering of his tattoo around his neck right.

The longer he stares, the more fidgety you become. 

“Sorry, I can get rid of it if you want. I know it might be rude to draw other people without permission—” 

“No, no, it’s beautiful. Thank you for choosing me as a model.” He finds himself saying, and his cold heart flutters when you beam. 

You end up gifting him the picture, and after you exchange names, you leave. 

He finds your number hastily scrawled at the bottom of the drawing. 

Being near you still adds to the size of my sighs,

There's still seismic events at hellos and goodbyes,

And I still need reminders of why it's unwise

To stare

So don't you dare

The longer he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea of you becoming friends. You’re shy, but you’re sweet and a brilliant artist. You would be entertaining, at least. 

But he’s likely never to meet you again, so that idea snuffs out like a candle. So he doesn’t text you. 

At least until you walk into his shop. 

You are admiring one of his masks on display when he enters the room from the back. He had heard the door jingle but wanted to finish some of the final stitching of the current mask he was working on. It was for the new half-ghoul Kaneki Ken. But that was beside the point. 

What were you doing here?

Don't you dare make me fall in love with you

Don't you dare do something so cliché

Just get out of my daydreams,

You're an unwelcome guest

And stop making me miss you

'Cause you leaving's for the best

You look up as he comes in, and confusion brightens your eyes. 

“Uta?” You ask, and he nods,

“That’s me. Welcome to HySy ArtMask Studio.” He says, more out of habit than anything. You offer him a smile, and he finds his heart trembling at the sight. 

What was wrong with him?

“I heard there was a mask studio that could offer a lot of inspiration. I didn’t know you owned it.” You comment as you cradle your sketchbook against your chest. Your pencil is stuck behind your ear, and you’re dressed in a thick knit sweater and trousers. Your boots scuff against the floor. 

He finds himself gesturing to the masks. 

“Make yourself at home.” He says, genuinely meaning it. 

'Cause I just couldn't stand having you as my crutch

You're a simmering stovetop I was tempted to touch

If you ever return, it'll burn me too much

To bear

So don't you dare

After the initial text, you are really the only one keeping up the conversation. Sure, Uta replies, but he keeps a certain amount of distance between you two. Mainly for your safety. 

But for whatever reason, you keep coming back. 

Your presence becomes a regular in his shop. You come every Friday, right after your university classes. Even though you are his age, if not a year younger, you say you are working toward your bachelor’s degree in—you guessed it—art. 

You say you want to open your own shop and sell your artwork. 

Much like him. 

And I know it's all so shallow, but a shallow cut still stings

And before my heart becomes Amelia's heir, I need to clip its wings

So don't you dare keep mocking me with those

Thousand little things that I adore

Let me ignore you, don't let me care

He tries to ignore you the closer you two become. 

For your safety. 

At least, that’s what he tells himself. 

And don't you dare leave me still in love with you

Nothing's fair when love is war

And I just can't endure any more of the fight

When the casualties rise with my heart rate each night

At first, Uta thinks he’s dying. Of course, that would explain why you always make his heart race and his blood run hot. 

That would explain why you’re always on his mind. 

Right?

Though I know I'm to blame for the glances I'd steal,

For the time I kept spending pretending it's real

And now that it's ending, I still have more feelings to spare

But don't you dare

It takes a talking to from Yomo for him to realize what’s going on. 

Don't you dare

When Uta first realized he was in love with you, admittedly, he panicked a little. 

But he doesn’t hate the idea. 

#tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul x reader #tokyo ghoul uta #tokyo ghoul uta x reader #tokyo ghoul re #tg uta #tg uta x reader #tg #uta x reader #uta x you #uta tokyo ghoul #uta tokyo ghoul x reader #fairy writes

[cilil]

Day 1 ~ Daily Life & Customs

AN: For day 1 of @silmarillionepistolary. Yes, it had to be Cara for tax day, and yes, with Turgon. Thanks again to @elentarial for suggesting this pairing all the way back in December, I'm invested (pun intended) now.

��🖋 Characters/pairings: Caranthir x Turgon 𓂃🖋 Synopsis: Caranthir is delighted to finally receive some personal correspondence - from his favourite cousin no less. 𓂃🖋 Warnings: / 𓂃🖋 Oneshot (~600 words) | AO3

Dear cousin, 

I hope you are well. 

The pen you gifted me proves to be wonderful not just for writing, but for inking my sketches and drawings as well, so I must thank you again. 

I have been making some progress with the tower I was designing, though I am not yet happy with the archway and window designs. Uncle Arafinwë was so kind as to ask Eönwë to take me to Ilmarin for inspiration, but Lord Manwë was more interested in telling me about the birds nesting in his towers than explaining the design. 

I am admittedly lacking inspiration of my own at the moment, so if you happen to have other ideas, please let me know.

Regards, Turukáno 

Carnistir read the letter several times, his brow furrowed in concentration and contemplation. It was quite like Turukáno to keep his correspondence short and to the point, yet another reason why he was — despite his sincere commiseration for his dear cousin's troubles — positively delighted to hear from him. 

Prince or not, Carnistir didn't receive many letters, and most of the ones that ended up on his desk were formal correspondence, either addressed to him or to one of his brothers. Tyelkormo and Makalaurë were particularly notorious for forgetting to take care of theirs, and Maitimo had recently taken to spending a lot of time with Findekáno and was less willing to help out. 

Thus many things fell onto Carnistir's shoulders, and private correspondence had become an even rarer treat. It made him feel important — even wanted in a strange and possibly pathetic manner, as he chastised himself — that Turukáno was indirectly asking him for help and opinions regarding one of his passion projects. 

Determined, Carnistir pushed a stack of papers aside and placed his new favourite letter in the middle, reaching for an empty sheet of paper to compose his response posthaste. While not exactly an urgent matter, it was not one to ignore for days or weeks either. 

Dear cousin, 

I appreciate your letter, and hope this one finds you well. 

If you would like my personal opinion, I am afraid I cannot say much without having seen the progress on your sketch. I would be happy to visit and have a look, though. 

What I can also do for you, if you wish, is arrange a meeting with Grandfather Mahtan and possibly Lord Aulë as well; surely they could provide some better insights. Let me know if you would like that, and I shall speak to my mother promptly. 

Regards, Carnistir

Carnistir hesitated before writing down his final lines. Briefly, he contemplated a warmer wording, at least a "yours" or "yours truly", but in the end decided the safest way was to simply mirror Turukáno's style. Besides, he didn't want to seem pushy or intrusive, not when he had such a golden opportunity to gain his favourite cousin's favour. 

He would accompany him to any meeting he might agree to, of course. It would certainly be helpful for his own studies as well, he justified it to himself as soon as the thought crossed his mind. If he was going to study the depths and nuances of things like trade, taxes and even the occasional textile work, something his family members liked to tease him about, some input on style, composition and architecture couldn't hurt. 

Waiting for the ink to dry on the paper to avoid any unforgivable stains or smears, Carnistir began looking for an envelope and sealing wax. He was going to make sure that his letter would be sent as soon as possible. 

Thanks for reading! ♡

taglist: @elanna-elrondiel @i-did-not-mean-to @saintstars @urwendii

#silmarillionepistolary #caranthir #carnistir #turgon #turukano #turgon x caranthir #house of finwe #silmarillion fanfiction #silm fanfic #silmarillion #cílil writes #my writing

[hiswitchcraft]

Do you have any thoughts/information about like

Enchanting/blessing an existing object? Idk if I'm using correct terms but placing magic onto something.

I used to when I was a little more physically capable stitch sigils onto my stuffed animals and have thought about undoing stitches to hide spell jars or crystals in the stuffing (before of course redoing the stitches) so that they can be a lil magic.

But I've also like the idea of attaching spells to things like jewelry (I don't have many that have actual crystals or anything) that look cute and I'd love to use as a charm, and I also always like the idea of attaching magic to letters and gifts to wish good fortune or protection on the recipient? Blessing on shoes maybe for safe travels and avoiding injury, or similar charms on other pieces of clothing... I just wouldn't know how to go about it, especially with things I want to keep physical alterations to a minimum with.

Enchanting is the term you're looking for I believe! Stitching sigils into stuffed animals is already so creative, inventive and resourceful I can't imagine you needing my help. But I do have plenty of thoughts and maybe I can give you a bit of guidance or further inspiration!

A Rough Guide to Enchanting

When you enchant something, you are basically just transferring a spell, or specific energy onto an object so it holds a certain property.

There are any number of ways you can do this. There's probably useful methods I won't list here, haven't heard of, or haven't though of. A lot of spell methods and components can be applied here and I'll go over some of them and then how you using or mixing them might look!

Herbs - This is the first method that comes to mind when I think of enchanting. You can set out a small object in a bunch of herbs that correspond to the property you want overnight. A lot of people also put the herbs in water, which could be magical, add a candle or put the whole thing under the full moon. You can also make this method more complicated by mixing in other methods but I get into that below!

Sigils - Sigils are your best friend here. You can draw them out in smoke, water or oil. You can burn them and mix the ashes in water or oil. You can draw them onto things. Sew them into things. You can draw them on yourself, and much more. The possibilities are endless. A very simple way to give an object a property is to put a sigil on it.

Anointing - You can make a magical water or oil by setting it out under a certain moon phase or astrological event, mixing things into it it, or drawing sigils in it. Then you can anoint the item with that. You can also burn things like sigils or herbs and use the ashes in this way or in a mixture for anointing, transferring the sigil spell to the object.

Smoke - Another way to use plants and herbs, select an herb (that is safe to burn) or create a bundle of herbs and burn them to create smoke. Let the smoke envelop the item to enchant it with the property or properties of those herbs.

Elemental enchanting - If you wanted an object to generally have the properties you associate with an element, you can enchant it with that element's energy. So for example you could bury an object under the full moon to give it the Earth's energies.

Mixing methods & using other ingredients I think all the methods above can work on their own can but you can also mix them or add other ingredients! If you wanted to, you could use smoke, then anoint the item, and let it sit out overnight under the full moon in herbs/an herb mixture/or with other ingredients in a bowl besides herbs, like sigils, or even tarot cards. I love using tarot cards in spells! The possibilities are endless here. Get creative with the ingredients you use.

Petitions You can get creative with the other ingredients besides herbs or sigils but there's another component I want to suggest here, and that is petitions. I have a post about them here but basically a petition is a sort of instruction set or contract with a spell for exactly what it will do, when it will do it, and when or what will stop it. This is a great thing to include in all spells in my opinion but it's particularly good for when you need something very specific and may be useful if you want to enchant something with a property or goal that's less general or just unusual. It also may be use to give the enchantment a fuel source or a kill switch. This is what makes petitions great for all spell work!

Visualization & your own energy This is both a step you may want to include and a little more an advanced suggestion. So first of all, when you enchant or do any spell really you can visualize the energy for the enchantment going into the object and focus to raise energy to charge the spell. Another thing you can do, if you are familiar with manipulating energy is to manipulate your own into the object to charge it or connect it to you.

Some final thoughts I can see why you'd want to enchant jewelry. That's probably one of the most common things people like to enchant because you wear it all the time, ideal for warding in my opinion but anyways! I know you mentioned wanting to enchant things like clothes or accessories without altering them too much and hopefully I covered that plenty. I think creating a mixture of herbs or other ingredients and setting them out in the full moon is idea for jewelry although many of the methods I mentioned could work. Using sigils with some mixture of Theban script would be an obvious choice for letters. I made and enchanted a bookmark for my girlfriend this way. But of course some of the other methods I mentioned would work as well. I'm so into DIY that I'd probably just create a patch or draw sigils on clothing or shoes... but not everyone wants that look, y'know? You could just draw sigils on the bottoms of shoes or use magical water when you clean the shoes. You could also use smoke. We're back to the possibilities are endless!

I think all of your ideas for properties to enchant objects with are great and I hope this helps you accomplish every single one of them, if you need help don't be afraid to follow up or message me!

#witch #witches #witchcraft #witchy #witch tip #witch tips #witchy tip #witchy tips #new witch #baby witch #beginner witch #enchant #enchanting #a guide to enchanting #enchanting 101 #enchanting an object #how to enchant #enchanting jewelry #how to enchant jewelry #how to enchant anything #enchantment

[bump1nthen1ght]

Woo glad to see you back with the drabbles and one shots! I have a request for a pretty fun drabble or one shot scenario, this may also be pretty specific so sorry about that if you don’t like it :)

So what about a scenario between a very determined Shadow ghost/Sleep paralysis demon and a reader who just simply has zero reactions to anything scary? Like the reader just moved into this home that’s being secretly inhabited by the ghost/demon and said being wants to try and get the reader to leave so it begins to do everything in its power to scare them away however they quickly find out that no matter what scary tactic they try the reader just.. does not react, they sorta just shrug it off and continue with their day casually. And like it escalates into this one sided rivalry all the way up until the reader finally discovers the ghost/demon and instead of being scared away they simply begin to talk to it and try to get along with it and then whoops! the ghost/demons feelings of disdain and rivalry start growing into something a lot more affectionate and fond!

Again apologies if this is too specific I’ve had this idea rocking around in my brain for a little while- Have a nice day/night!

Sure thing anon! I do love some pining and some shadow demons 😈

Gender Neutral! Reader x Shadow Demon (they/them) under the cut!

For the first time in their very long life, Barbas has a rival.

Not that this rival knows who they are, or even seems to care about their many battles. That's probably what makes the rivalry so fierce, why it boils Barbas so much to even think about you.

They’ve built up a solid repertoire of scare tactics, forged over years with fairy tales, monster movies, and scary bedtime stories all acting as inspiration. It's why their house, their beautiful house, had never been sold up to this point. Barbas much enjoyed the system formerly in place; some dumb teenageres would come and try to prove their might, Barbas would pull out some creepy voices and moving shadows, and they’d run away screaming and warning others to stay away. The particularly bold ones, those egging others on to enter the haunted place, then received a proper night of nightmares and paralysis.

Until you showed up.

It was already a risky move, buying such a dilapidated house with a reputation; Barbas respected that about you. At first, anyway.

Such a reputation is why they started small with their spooks. Ominously opening doors, darting shapes in the shadows, and flickering lights. When you barely paid attention to those Barbas escalated to moving items, slamming the refrigerator shut, even whispering while you sleep. Once again, no response.

Barbas enjoyed a good scare, but they weren’t cruel. As much as your indifference irked them, they didn’t think a night of sleep paralysis was due. No, if anything you could explain that away with the stress of the move, so they needed to truly scare you. Throw dishes off the counter, knock over furniture, and maybe slip a bit of a paranoia in your dreams.

And still, nothing.

This is when they started getting frustrated. What, did you have no survival instinct? No sense of urgency? They were pulling out all the stops here and you didn’t even have the decency to pretend you were scared! You’d just re adjust your chairs, sweep up the broken plates, and make sure to not eat before bed to prevent the nightmares.

So they were reduced to more direct, tacky, methods. Barbas almost balked at how far they had fallen as they wrote an ominous “LEAVE” on your fogged up bathroom mirror. This was so below them.

They hide in the shadow of a corner as you step out of your shower, averting their gaze until they're sure you’ve put on your fluffy robe. The peak open one eye, noticing how you scrunch up your face at the message.

Not even a scream, what is going ON?!

But then you lean forward, drawing letters on the mirror.

Hello? Who is this?

Barbas is taken aback, seeing how you go back to putting on lotion, eyes only glancing to see if there is a response. Throwing up a shroud of invisibility, they write back.

I’m the rightful owner of this house.

Your eyebrows shoot up as you see them writing in the mirror, words appearing from nothing.

I’m sorry. I just bought this place, I didn’t realize someone still lived here.

An apology. That was new.

You go to write more, but think twice and then run to your room. You come back with a notepad and pen, sitting on the toilet and clicking the ballpoint.

Can you write here? What's your name?

Barbas shifts, leaning over your shoulder. Usually this is the part where they lay a ghostly hand on the back of your neck, and you jump up and scream.

Instead, Barbas grabs the pen and writes. Your eyes wide , seeing the pen move on its own.

My name is not important. Why are you still here?

They set the pen in your hand.

Like I said, I just bought this house. I can’t just leave. Am I bothering you?

Barbas stops at that, pen floating in the air as they think of a response.

You weren’t…really bothering them that much. You didn’t stay up too late and bring a bunch of people over, you kept things relatively clean, you listened to decent music. You even brought some interesting knick knacks with you which Barbas had taken a liking to look at. They’d been in one place for so long it was nice to see things from all over the world. You’d asked them their name and asked if you did something to upset them, when all this time it was Barbas who was inconveniencing you.

Not particularly. They settle on as response

Ok, then you don’t mind me staying? You won’t break any more of my dishes?

Barbas feels a flush of embarrassment, like they’re the petulant child and you’re the rational adult whose “not mad, just disappointed.”

No.

Ok.

You set the notepad down on the side of the bathroom sink, sitting up with a sigh. Your face is still tangled with thought, patting your cheek as you look down at the writing. Barbas peaks over, noticing how comically murdery their handwriting looks. But then you grab the pen and begin writing again.

If you need anything, just write it here. I’ll make sure to keep it where I can see it.

You hold up the page, showing it off in a circle to make sure they see it. Barabas nods, even though they know that means nothing at the moment.

I’m going to go watch a movie. You’re free to join me, if you want.

With a satisfactory nod, you grab the notebook and walk out of the bathroom, making a pit stop to put the notebook on the kitchen table before hesding into your room to change.

Things just keep getting weirder.

—--

Barbas doesn’t write to you that night, even when you leave the notebook on the coffee table while you watch your movie. Even though the movie is really good, even though the mystery ends on a cliffhanger and Barbas wants to hear your theories. They just linger, sitting in the chair opposing your sofa, and observe.

You go about your everyday life the same, a little more aware of their presence but keeping your habits regular. You clean, you work, exercise, then relax.

But now you keep Barbas in your mind, often leaving them small notes.

Do you want me to turn on a movie while I’m gone? I wasn’t sure if you know how to work the remote?

How’d you like my music? What's your favorite song?

I have too much lasagna leftover, do you want some? Can you eat that?

What books do you like?

Barbas tried to keep their distance with simple yes or no answers. But your pestering empathy and understanding is quickly wearing down their walls. No, they didn’t know how the remote works, thank you for teaching them. Yes, they would like some lasagna, because your cooking always smells amazing.

Their answers become longer, more frequent as time goes on. You’re so curious about this roommate you’ve never seen, it's too damn endearing. Maybe they could brush it off as human curiosity, but then you go and remember stuff about them.

There's some of that iced tea in the fridge. Feel free to drink some, you like it more than I do.

That movie you loved was in the dollar bin at the store. I got it so you can just rewatch in the DVR rather than logging into my Xbox.

I got this new peach candle, want me to burn it in the living room for you?

You’re just so damn nice and so funny and so damn cute-

Gods, how could Barbas not start liking you?

—

It came to head with the movie nights. While the both of you had left longer notes throughout the day it was during the evening when you would have full conversations. Barbas had left many pages full of reviews and opinions when you’d watch certain flicks (Especially horror), so much so that you had begun just talking out loud during the movie and letting Barbas respond on the notepad.

They still hadn’t revealed their true form, though they had begun sitting closer and closer to you on the couch. The cushion would dent and goosebumps would raise on your skin, your senses knowing that someone was there, though you couldn’t see them directly. If you had noticed, you hadn’t said anything, which was a relief for Barbas.

Because it was getting really hard not to hug you.

It was already difficult not staring at you, especially when they know you wouldn’t notice. But the way you talk with your hands, gesticulating here and there was just so charming. They’d get to see your eyes light up when you could tell them a piece of trivia, or a funny story about when you watched this movie with friends. Your eyes would crinkle up as you laugh, your smile subtle but cute.

Barbas wasn’t sure if they had even seen a human like this before, so up close and personal. It's probably for the best, because all those silly little things are driving Barbas a little wild.

And sometimes, sometimes your wandering gaze lands on where they are hidden, even though you don’t realize. In those moments Barbas feels like you’re talking, really talking to them, and its overwhelming.

You’re on the second movie of the might, something light and funny as you yawn more and more. The conversation has slowed down, you snuggled into the blankets with a halfway-sleep gaze. Barbas sits on the other edge of the couch, consciously aware of how you sink into the cushions, slowly leaning to their side as you contemplate laying down. You rub your eyes and gosh why do you have to be darn cute.

“This movie isn’t great.” You mutter, rolling your neck. “I like this director and the premise is good, but honestly I feel like it could’ve been funnier if they actually put effort in it. What do you think?” You say, right before looking Barbas directly in the eye.

Or, thats what it seems like. What's more likely is that your stretching out your neck and happened to glance to their side of thr couch, not knowing that they sit right beside you. You look down for the notepad a second later, waiting for their response. Barbas sits still, unmoving.

Is this what it felt like? To like being around someone? To chat with them, eye to eye, about the little things?

“I concur, It’s certainly lacking something.”

Barbas says, their warped voice sounding more monstrous than ever.

This time you actually do look at them, right into all six of their bright red eyes. Their legs hang over the couch, knees hitting the top of the coffee table. The movie plays on, unnoticed as you take in their void-like face, seams running up the side of their smile where they can unhinge it enough to swallow a watermelon. Their long, too long arms, laying over the arms of the couch.

They dig their claws into the fabric, trying to hide how their fingers shake. Gods, they bet their face is so flushed right now.

A comical explosion goes off on screen, the main character shouting a joke thats desperately trying to be relevant to pop culture.

“Like right there! Who even wrote that, a 14 year old taking their first improv class?” You point to the TV. “No hate to 14 year olds, but even they have more respect for comedic craft than this.”

“It’s true, the teenagers who used to come here for dares made me laugh all the time.” Barbas nods “Mostly because they had ridiuclous sounding screams, but that was unintentional. Some of them had real zingers.”

“Oooh tell me more. I think we need some genuine comedy.”

Barbas wracks their brain for something good, the need for a good first impression. “Well, one-time, this guy came with his girl as a dare. Big group of people and he was clearly trying to make this girl laugh, he was a real class clown type, and so he started with-” Barbas chuckles, remembering the desperation on the 15 year olds face to look cool, “ ‘Do we want to start with ghost-hunting or some drinks? Either way, I’m excited for some boos.’”

You guffaw, slapping their shoulder in disbelief as you giggle. “I thought you said these were zingers!”

“Oh no that was terrible, the look on his face when nobody laughed was the funny part.”

“ Oh my god, you’re terrible.”

Barbas shoots a finger guns, remembering how suave a TV character looked when he did it. “I’m a demon, it comes with the job description.”

“Oooh I’m so scared, this is coming from ‘ I can’t watch Titanic, it will make me cry.’”

“Those two only had each other! What monster doesn’t cry?”

“If you say so, dork.”

You pat their shoulder again, the same way all those teenagers did when their crush was acting a fool. Barbas feels their two hearts racing again.

You joke and poke fun at the movie and Barbas feels the weight of nerves slide off their shoulders. The exhausting fear of wondering how you would react to their true form, this monster made to instill fear and look wrong, when they had gotten so attached.

Its just like the notes, but now you see them, can touch them, can laugh with them.

The credits begin to roll and you let out another long yawn.

“Want to watch something actually funny before we go to bed? I think the lead voice is gonna haunt my dreams if not.”

Barbas doesn’t actually sleep, but doesn’t correct you and nods. You lean over the coffee table to grab the remote, your knee brushing against theirs. Their hearts thud in their chest

As the intro to the sitcoms plays you lay back down, resting your weight on their shoulder and snuggling in.

Barbas feels their chest constrict, nearly purring when you rub your eyes and looks so damn cute.

“I really like you.” You mumble, 10 minutes into the episode.

Barbas is lost for words, brain only catching up a minute later, but by then they hear you begin to snore. They look down at you, face all pressed up as you rest on their shoulder. The domesticity can’t help but make them smile.

“I like you too, ___”

Barbas whispers.

They wait for you to fall asleep, hearing your heart slightly slow and your breathing to even out. Not wanting to wake you up teleporting, they carried you to your room, tucking you in. You cuddle into the covers, not unlike how you did to their shoulder.

Gods, so cute.

Barbas spends time admiring you, trying to justify that as a Sleep Demon, its not that creepy.

Only then does it occur to them.

Shit, I never told them my name.

#my writing #reader insert #monster x reader #gender neutral reader #monster romance #monster/human

[asmolvaporeon]

Hi @threefeline! I draw maybe once a year and when I do it’s usually symmetrical patterns and not things with an actual anatomy, but goddamn you inspired me to draw something more tangible because your demon looks cool and you’re a cool person and I wanted to draw something for you to express that. I hope you understand when I say that from the moment I saw that sketch I thought “oh god he looks RAD I want to draw him!” and holy shit(!) I did. A full-ass, made-from-scratch digital drawing!

So yeah the perspective is a bit wonky and not what I aimed for and I have no idea what shading is but I am happy that I made this and I hope you’re happy too. This was drawn with a laptop touchpad, lots of patience and no experience so I’m giving myself some slack. It was nonetheless fun! I might do this some more! I feel that I learned some things, at least about the art program, so that’s something.

Also I’m never drawing chains again. Hell. Absolute capital-letter-H Hell is what that part was every step of the way. 

I’ll put a read more here because I made thought-notes during the process. Some of them are fun. There's also the base sketch that I did on paper.

(To the tune of the hills are alive with the sound of music) Where doooeess the other back leeggg goooooo?

Solution: he splooting!

Clavicle? Never heard of her!

(Threefeline I don’t know how you do this you’re a fucking wizard!)

Okay what is this arm going to do? Fuck it let it hold some flowers, that’s what they are good for.

Oh no his head is too large, we don’t want an egghead; make him a pinhead!

FUCK THERE ARE HORNS AS WELL

Good Loooord hands are haaaard

I implore you Threefeline, ignore his messed up left hand.

Oh okay, alright then. Fuck, god, chains are possibly worse, just for different reasons. 

Oh no I think I gave him the handsome Squidward face

Why can’t I get the horn angles RIGHT

Why is the noodle harder to draw?!

Oh god I broke its arm

Fuck it, mewtwo tail! 

We’re snatching his waist, lads!…What have we done

Hand? What hand? There’s only fluff there!

I tried making the colors more dull, but well…I just couldn’t really get the hang of it? Hopefully I’ll learn some day?

What the fuck is shading. Shading chains in particular is bullshit.

(After figuring out gold) Oh my god I feel like Michelangelo here. I’m learning art man. 

#my own posts #art #my art #<- yay I can finally use that tag! #mutuals OCs #demons

[pronglesart]

This is a pretty random one, but how did you design the logo for Ingress?

Little did you know, I love to answer questions about ~design~.

The Ingress logo has gone through about 3 different official versions, but at least 50 different conceptual iterations. I'm a graphic designer by trade and profession, so I approached it any other way I would approach making a logo.

The first iteration of the logo I have less information on the development of, but I was looking at a lot of advertising from the late 1800s to early 1900s. For example, these advertisements have a lot flourishes on the text and warping letters, as was common in that era.

I took that concept and made the first iteration of the ingress logo at the comic's inception in 2017. My graphic design skills weren't as strong then, and I mostly just took a font I thought fit and slapped it around a little bit to try and get the look I wanted.

I wasn't particularly happy with how this one turned out, and it only ended up being used for a few months on the first version of the website and on a single printing of the first chapter of the comic, but I also didn't put a ton of time and energy into making this one. So, I went back to the drawing board soon after I made this first one.

The second iteration of the logo took a lot of inspiration from the same sources, but I first took a lot of time drawing out concepts in my sketchbook to try and get the right visual look for how the logo should be.

At first I played with the idea of including a little picture along with the logo. I thought maybe Toivo's glasses would be a good thing to try to include in the 'g' in Ingress, or that Rocky or Toivo's hat should appear in the logo. These were all discarded for cluttering up the logo, because the words themselves are all pretty long. Eventually, I started playing with the shape of the word itself, which very quickly lead to the last S becoming the signature swirl.

Next was iterating on this concept with fonts.

That lead to the second iteration of the logo, and the longest running version of it.

I chose a textured font to give it that "worn" feeling that was so popular in the design world in 2018. There were a ton of brands doing textured stuff to give their brand an edgy feel, but I did it to make it feel old and like it was from the late 1800s.

This would still be the logo today, but I ran into a problem: the font I used, Goldsmith Vintage, had a limitation on how long you could use their font for free and for printing. Fonts aren't particularly expensive, but if you want to use a font for publishing, you need a special license and those fees can rack up in price pretty quickly. It was unlikely that the people who made the font would come after me for using it, but I decided to not take that chance and instead refresh the logo one more time, this time putting more of my own hand in it.

This time, I took a different approach. I liked the old logo, but I was having a hard time finding a font that I really liked and would get the same feeling as the old logo... So instead, I decided to use calligraphy to draw it myself.

I rewrote the word Ingress Over and Over and Over, and specifically I rewrote the S's to try and get the perfect shape of it. Then, I picked out specific letters that I liked.

From those letters, I picked the ones I thought looked best, and smashed them together into one rough version of the logo that I liked.

And then from here, I made a digital version of the logo in Adobe Illustrator so I could get a nice crisp vector version. Also, I made rough versions of it, so I could keep doing the same 'old' look.

And... that's about it!

Ultimately, I think the new one is really fun, and I really like the fact that the latest one was made with my hand directly. Those aren't letters you can find in any font, they're my letters.

Maybe you can tell but, I have a lot of opinions on letter shapes.

Anyway, thanks for asking, and I hope this was as entertaining for you to read as it was for me to blather on about.

#graphic design #ingress adventuring company #my art #logo design #logo development #art design #art #asks

[qqueenofhades]

write a fic that is epistolary except instead of it being a letter it's Hob writing a rage response to GoT/HotD

OKAY LOOK NONNIE, HOB IS OBVIOUSLY A HISTORY PROFESSOR IN 2022, YES?

So that means he has ABSOLUTELY heard of GoT/HOTD, his students come into class with many dumb ideas because of it, and this (uh, not in any way inspired by actual events) makes him very, very Tired. So one day he just draws up a PowerPoint presentation entitled "Why Game of Thrones Is Not History PLEASE STOP CITING IT IN YOUR ESSAYS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD UNLESS IT IS SPECIFICALLY A COMPARATIVE MEDIA ANALYSIS THANK YOU!" and goes to town. One of his students films it and puts it on YouTube. Hob becomes a viral video star for a while, which is the worst thing that has ever happened to him in 600+ years of life. He gets lots of nasty comments insisting that he is very wrong and a politically correct snowflake and that Joe Q. Viewer, Noted Medieval History Expert, is obviously right, especially about Women, Gays, and Black People.

Hob takes all these comments, compiles ANOTHER PowerPoint, and gives a conference paper about Popular Medievalism and Public Perception, wherein he just reads them all for filth in an extremely thoughtful and academic way. (I see Hob as being primarily a late medieval/early modernist with particular focus on Britain's role in the Atlantic world and the impact of the slave trade in the development of empire, or at least that will be his main research interest in AITWW). However by nature, and for Reasons, he also teaches medieval history survey modules and medieval independent studies and such, so he is definitely very conversant in all that too.

Anyway, Hob then passive-aggressively publishes said conference paper in some journal or other. Professors are like "oh my god thank you." His students tend to think he's cool. Hob may be cool, but he is mostly just a man with a burning, burning grudge. Against Will Shakespeare, and against fucking Game of Thrones.

#anonymous #ask #hob gadling #aitww #i have So Many history professor hob headcanons #me projecting my academic trauma onto him? maybe #dream when they reunite in 2022: okay you do WHAT for a living

[richincolor]

Book Review: Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt

Publisher summary: Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things—from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen—provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.

My thoughts: I don’t know who had the idea to make this adaptation, but this book is a gift and we’re fortunate that people worked together to make this happen. Monique Gray Smith and Nicole Neidhardt have shared Robin’s words in an extraordinary way. They managed to maintain the message of the book while also making it accessible and visually appealing to a younger audience or even adult readers who appreciate fewer words with a larger font, more blank space, and beautiful images that support the text. This book carries so much meaning and love and I’m thankful that it is in the world for young readers.

Braiding Sweetgrass is about connection and being in relationship with the earth, plants, animals, and humans. It’s an inspirational book that is part memoir, part science text, and part love letter. If you’re thinking that the text is doing a lot, you are not wrong, but it’s never chaotic. The text, colors, and images are peaceful and encourage pauses and contemplation.

Readers begin with an introduction to sweetgrass and an invitation to remember our connection to the world and the beings within it. Throughout the book, there are quotes pulled from the text that are featured within a circle of sweetgrass. The first one really sets the tone: “Imagine how less lonely the world would be if we knew and believed that we didn’t have to figure everything out by ourselves.” Another explains about that honorable harvest is “to take only what is given, to use it well, to be grateful for the gift, and to reciprocate the gift.”  There are also small boxes that include definitions of key words like reciprocity or kin. Questions are also scattered around like, “What’s your first memory of being connected to all living beings? or “In what ways can stories be medicine?”

The reader is meant to think about the concepts in the book, but action is also strongly encouraged. When Kimmerer shares about trees that collectively fruit across the state, she explains that “all flourishing is mutual.” This is followed by questions about how to apply this to social justice and the current issues in our own neighborhoods. We have a responsibility to the earth and each other and are reminded many times through these pages.

One aspect of the text is about the contrasts between Indigenous ways of knowing and scientific (what is taught in typical US academic institutions) ways of knowing. Readers see how Kimmerer struggled with this in her college years and ultimately remembered how to learn from nature in a rich way. Native scholar Greg Cajete is referenced at one point. He wrote about Indigenous ways of knowing explaining that we understand something only when we have understood it with all four aspects of our being: mind, body, emotion, and spirit. The writings and stories in Braiding Sweetgrass show how to attend to all of the aspects and find the beauty in this world.

Speaking of beauty, the illustrations definitely help to express the wonders of our world and whether it be plants, animals, humans or anything else. They don’t just teach–many communicate healing and connection. Some are simple diagrams like when there is an eye and the parts are detailed, but others are art that illustrates a story or images that speak to the heart.

Recommendation: Get it now. I recommend this for any young person especially if you are interested in science and living beings. It’s also an excellent book for anyone who is feeling isolated or who is seeking connection. I think the words in this book can bring healing to readers and lead to healing in our world.

Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group

Pages: 304

Availability: On shelves now

Review copy: Purchased

Extras:

Visit the Lerner site where there is a download of the Thanksgiving Address illustration for download.

TeenLive Author Talk: Braiding Sweetgrass from The New York Public Library on Vimeo.

Watch a Kitchen Table Discussion with the authors and illustrator about the process of creating this book.

#book review #braiding sweetgrass

[violinsolos]

Dracula Daily, Prof Thoughts: May 16

Since I'm a 19th Century prof in real life, I thought I'd make a few points based on some reactions I'm seeing to Dracula! Today's topics: 1) on breasts, and 2) on homoeroticism.

Firstly, in Victorian parlance, our friend Jonathan's use of 'breast' in today's update refers to one's heart, not actual body parts. It's common even in prior centuries to the Victorian era to use it as a euphemism for chest or heart (ie, Goethe's "Two souls alas! dwell in my breast" in Faust--ie, I've got two souls inside me) and it's not necessarily a gendered term. I realize it shouldn't be a gendered term now what with many trans men or nb folks also having breasts, but I digress.

More significant spoilers for today's update beneath the cut.

Yes, the *literary* vampire in English (aka, not the folkloric vampire) has always been sexy and often are associated with 'deviant' sexualities. Dracula is by far not our earliest vampire book, and Stoker in particular was inspired by le Fanu's Carmilla, an overtly lesbian vampire novella published in 1872. You can see echoes of Carmilla, who is beautiful and alluring but predatory, in the brides in today's update. Carmilla preys on female victims, and the book can be read either as a predatory lesbian trope or (more subversively) as a lesbian love story where vampirism = change and self-discovery and the men in the book turn her into a monster to avoid her drawing other girls into that state. (I think a lot of this subtext exists probably unintentionally on le Fanu's part, but to me it's a more fun way to read the text, and sometimes authors can create ideas and associations unintentionally). Both of these things can also be true at the same time. Carmilla's longing for Laura to join her in vampiredom is a potential mirror here to Dracula's lament that he has loved in the past (ie, the brides) and the implication, as he gazes at Jonathan, that he can love again.

Is he planning on making Jonathan a vampire so that they can all share kisses? Or is he implying that they can drink from him and kill him once he's done with him? Dracula's mention of 'love' here makes this ambiguous, as the predatory drinking of blood is paralleled with the act of love (kissing), making the two seem inextricable from one another in the first place.

See also Lord Ruthven in Polidori's The Vampyre, based on famously bisexual icon Lord Byron. Ruthven is usually considered our first literary vampire in the English canon--so from the beginning, there have been Queer roots to the vampire.

The homoeroticism you're picking up on in this scene is the result of vampires, over time, being associated with anxieties pertaining to sexualities outside social norms. Stoker's had about a century of vampire lit to soak in this association. Sometimes these 'deviant' sexualities are condemned for good reason (IE, Lord Ruthven is an aristocrat who drains his victims due to his class privilege) and sometimes they are condemned in more complex and prejudiced ways (Carmilla and Dracula can be read as expressing Queer or at least non-normative desire which is simultaneously exciting and revulsive to their victims, and to give in means abandoning the status quo of good English womanhood/manhood, which Victorian writers were afraid of and had to condemn, but were also clearly intrigued by).

But Dracula is also being written in a time of tremendous social upheaval with respect to sexuality and gender (suffrage is on the horizon* and Stoker began writing Dracula mere months after Oscar Wilde's trial put him in jail for sleeping with men). Victorians fought bitterly over shifts in gender and sexuality expression, but they were also engaged in conversations about them in unprecedented ways. Queer communities are finding new languages for themselves during this era; women are issuing more challenges to traditional and restrictive gender expectations than ever before. Stoker's own personal connections to Wilde, and his effusive letters to the very Queer Walt Whitman, and his subsequent condemnation of Wilde and all Queer writers, show that at the very least he was aware of these shifts as well and had Feelings about them. You can see, I think, a mirrored combination of that fascination and revulsion in his depiction of 'voluptuous' powerful women and the homoeroticism of Dracula's claim that he can love as he gazes woefully at Jonathan.

Basically: this is a really interesting period in time and those two modes--fascination and revulsion--sit together in many scenes throughout Dracula because change, and experience outside of the English status quo, often evoked those paradoxical feelings for many readers during this era. Often, this contrast shows up in ways that are troubling by today's standards, and should be rightfully critiqued; but, I think, it is worth engaging with them to find complex truths within that paradox. You can engage without endorsing here, as we must do with virtually any Victorian book. *Unfortunately, racism abounds in this era as well, and these upheavals disproportionately focused on white womanhood, it must be said.

#dracula daily #daily dracula #jonathan harker #dracula

[hpowellsmith]

okay, i have no clue if you already got this ask but how on earth do you come up with the names for your characters, countries etc? teach me your ways! +little note: i absolutely love your games, you're truly my favourite author and biggest inspiration AAAA JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CREATNG THEM<3

Ahhhh thank you so much!!! I really appreciate it and I'm so pleased that I've been able to bring you some joy!

Names are very much not an exact science for me, or much of a science at all, but I very loosely have some languages I draw from for each country and sometimes I use names from a particular language and sometimes I tweak them a bit. All of them contain combinations - like in Europe, there's a lot of linguistic overlap - but for Westerlin my first port of call for inspiration is Swiss; for Jezhan it's Russian; for Zaledo it's Spanish; for Teran it's Italian. I like looking at people's names and surnames, as well as places that are in the similar area or have a similar sound. But I play very fast and loose with it - many of the real-world names or (made-up ones) don't match those languages, and not everyone in each country has names inspired by those languages, and I also want a sense of multiple languages in the setting as well as it not being the real world.

When I've got gender-selectable characters, I often like them to have the same name regardless of gender, so I collect a lot of real-world or imaginary "unisex" names, or surnames that I like, that I might use at some point. That hasn't happened much though - for major characters, the character idea comes first and then the name follows, and my nice list of names doesn't always quite fit! For minor characters that I'm making up on the fly, I'll just pick something and may change it as I go.

Finally, it's important to me that the names of major characters vary in one game (and aren't too similar to names of major characters in my other games), so I try not to have many characters in one game that start with the same letter or end with the same phoneme, and I like to have variation between how many syllables are in the names too. It helps me with keeping the characters distinct, even with a large cast.

Thank you for the ask!

#asks #interactive fiction #creme de la creme series

[cellythefloshie]

ＩＭＡＧＩＮＥ: Hiking with Jeremy Swayman Celly’s 300 Follower Appreciation Requested by @yungtbres

inspired by the NSFW Alphabet letter D.

-one of the things you loved most about Swayman was that he was an outdoorsman

-you didn’t get outdoors much during the season

-but as soon as the break hit you and Jeremy would travel and take to the trails

-often, he liked to invite his teammates to join him, but a lot of the time it would just be the two of you

-you would load your packs with enough food and water for the day

-your bug and bear sprays and your sunscreens

-and head out to your favourite spots 

-and even some unknown to you for you both to discover

-you had been new to hiking when you started

-so Jeremy often led you through the trails

-but as the years passed, and your experience grew Jeremy liked to take the rear

-he would never admit it but it was solely because he liked the way your ass looked in your hiking shorts

-and of all the views you would take in together that one was always his favorite

-especially when he got to reach a hand up and help boost you up over a particularly steep rock

-Jeremy would never pass up on the opportunity to touch you

-touch was very much his love language and you never complained

-not even when you would reach the perfect spot for your picnic on the trail

-where he would set up a nice blanket for you

-and rest his hand on your thigh or calf and stroke it with his thumb as he enjoys your company, the views and the food

-and if it’s a particularly long hike, the two of you might stay there for a little longer to rest

-the only struggle that comes with that on a particularly quiet trail is that Jeremy can get consumed with the idea of touching you and wanting to touch more of you

-and he knows that once he gets you worked up there’s no turning back for you either

-so he makes sure the trail is especially quiet before making any risky advances

-but when you were both sure the coast was clear Jeremy would be drawing you into his lap with nothing more than a blanket and the soft earth beneath him

-usually, Jeremy likes to take his time with you but on the trails, he doesn’t have the luxury

-but he does his best to get you worked up all the same

-he will hold your hips as he kisses you, guiding them back and forth over this growing cock 

-it’s then the two of you really decide if you’re willing to risk it, or if it will remain a hot and heavy makeout session

-everything from there happens quickly

-his hands working at your shorts to work them free and down your legs

-all the while you would work at the waist of his pants, working them down just enough to work him free

-and with your shorts resting around one ankle Jeremy that he would guide you down onto his cock

-there was something primal about it

-to be out in the wilderness, surrounded by the sounds and scents of nature 

-there were no distractions from Jeremy and how he felt beneath you 

-it brought out a side that almost contrasted what you often experienced in the bedroom

-he was always so tender and compassionate in the bedroom

-but out along the trail Jermey was forced to be quick and deliberate with his actions

-there was no getting you off with his fingers or his tongue before he got to indulge in you himself

-no, instead he got to delve right into you

-desperately he would cling to your body

-his hands on your hips, his arms wrapped around your middle or a single hand knotted in your hair

-if you remained on top of him he would dig his heels into the ground and meet your movements as you rode him

-or if he was confident no other hikers would be making their way up the trail he could lay you out on the blanket and fuck you deeply

-and if he were lucky he would leave you quivering

-but there would be times when he would finish quickly

-leaving you without relief

-but he would always make it up to you when you got home

-until then you would finish the hike

-packing up your little picnic spot after fixing your clothes

-and walking the trail with his cum deep inside you

#jeremy swayman #nhl imagine #hockey imagines #nhl rpf #hockey rpf #;;300

[lingthusiasm]

What if the IPA looked like weird nerd art and you could put it in your pocket?

The International Phonetic Alphabet chart is sometimes called the periodic table of linguistics -- an important technical diagram that's also visually interesting and which many linguists hang up on a wall, carry around inside a notebook, or simply know the exact keystrokes that'll get them to a page to type or listen to it.

Like with the periodic table of the elements, the layout of the IPA chart is a key to what the symbols mean: from top to bottom, the chart goes roughly from sounds where the mouth is the most closed to the most open, and from left to right, it goes from sounds where the constriction is the front of the mouth to the back of the mouth. This means that many linguists only know well the parts of the IPA that they encounter regularly in languages they work with, and rely on their knowledge of the overall structure to retrieve other parts on occasion. Hence the need to have it handy to refer to.

But there's also an important way in which the IPA chart and the periodic table differ: art. If you want a handy reference chart of the elements for your wall or your pocket, there are hundreds of possible designs, ranging from subtle, minimalist designs that look like cool nerdy art to intricate, maximalist designs with all the technical detail you might possibly want to refer to.

With the International Phonetic Alphabet, most people are still printing out (or occasionally stickering, or laminating) the same greyscale diagram from the International Phonetic Association. We, your Lingthusiasm cohosts, have a lot of affection for this classic design, which we've spent many hours poring over (especially the forbidden grey areas, ahem), but we also wondered, wouldn't it be cool if there was a more subtle, minimal version that would look more like weird-yet-stylish nerd art and less like a diagram from an academic paper?

Well...we know a linguist-artist. So we put this idea to Lucy Maddox, who's brought you previous Lingthusiasm art such as the space babies, the schwa never stressed pins, the "thanks" and "congrats" greeting cards, the bouba/kiki shapes, and more. And Lucy was excited about it too!

After many months of back-and-forth on coming up with and refining the design, we're very excited to share the near-final design with you! 

[Image description: an abstract, minimalist* rendering of the International Phonetic Alphabet as a grid of white, sans-serif letters on a midnight blue background, with no row or column headings. Bright green is used as an accent colour, for solid green circles around the voiceless consonants; white circles with green font for the rounded vowels, and narrow green borders around the lateral sounds. There's a small lingthusiasm logo in the bottom corner and a translucent "demo" watermark splashed in the background.]

*Yes, we know there's a syntax theory called Minimalism as well, which this has no real relationship to because it's a different subfield. Consider it a bonus easter egg!

(By the way, the design still has "demo" on it because, while we've checked it with several very helpful phonetics/phonology friends, there remains a possibility that there's a typo somewhere which the linguistics internet at large will tell us about before we get it printed. Hey, did we mention -- if you notice a typo here, now would be a GREAT time to tell us about it before we print a zillion copies.)

We've actually recorded a whole episode chatting with Lucy about the design process, which will be September's bonus episode, but a few brief notes about our design inspirations until then:

First, we were inspired by the ad-hoc IPA diagrams that linguists draw quickly on blackboards and notebooks when they want to discuss a point, which just have the minimal amount of information, and which generally don't have any labels for the rows or columns. So we ditched the labels. This is an IPA chart for people who already understand the general principles of reading an IPA chart, even if they don't quite remember all the symbols -- everything should be figure-out-able based on its position relative to common, well-known symbols. Same with the various circles for non-positional information: if you know that the difference between /p/ and /b/ is that /p/ is voiceless and /b/ is voiced, you can deduce that the solid green circle also indicates voicing for less familiar symbols. Or, if you're inclined to puzzles, this is an IPA chart for people who enjoy the challenge of decoding what some cool-looking symbols mean based on some familiar ones with maybe an assist from Wikipedia or a clickable IPA chart.

But wait -- this left us with a conundrum. The main consonant and vowel charts are totally decodable based on position. But there are also two other extra consonant charts which contain a grab-bag of other symbols arranged in no particularly decodable order. Simply removing the headings from these charts left them confusing. But after all, the IPA sounds are all produced with the same vocal apparatus...could we just fit them all into one diagram? It turns out that this (eventually, after much tweaking) looks really neat. And, we think, even makes these oft-disregarded consonants easier to remember.

Oh and by the way, since the 1900 version of the IPA chart had the consonants and vowels all on the same diagram, what if we included the vowels on there too? (We could not, alas, figure out a way of arranging the diacritics to make their meanings decodable from position only, so in the end we omitted them. If anyone does figure this out, please do let us know and we can talk about a revised version.)

With such a cool-looking IPA design, we also wanted to make it exist as a durable, tiny, lightweight object that you could carry with you everywhere and which might even be useful for secondary purposes. Which brings us to...lens cloths!

Lens cloths are a small, durable format for a reference image and you can use them to clean glasses, sunglasses, screens, camera lenses, and so on. Plus, they're a kind of merch we've never been able to do before, because lens cloth printing companies want you to place orders in the hundreds or ideally thousands.

Thousands? Oh, that brings us to The Plan:

We're going to place ONE (1) massive order for aesthetic IPA chart lens cloths on October 6, 2022. If you want one, be a patron at the Lingthusiast tier or higher on October 5th, 2022, timezone: anywhere in the world. If you’re already a patron at that tier, then you’re set! (That's the tier where you also get bonus episodes and the Discord access, we've never run a special offer at this tier before but we think this time it'll be worth it!)

If you want several IPA lens cloths, to give to friends or to make double extra sure you never leave home without one, you can also join the higher tiers (or stick around if you're already there). Patrons as the Ling-phabet tier will get 4 lens cloths and patrons at the Phil-ling-thropist tier will receive 12, in addition to the other rewards at those tiers.

We've ordered sample lens cloths from several different companies and we're really pleased with the quality of the company we're planning on going with -- the design will be entirely sublimated into the microfibre material so there's nothing to scratch your lenses, and it has a satisfying thickness and image resolution. The lens cloth production company estimates about a 2 week turnaround on ordering, so we expect we'll be mailing the lens cloths in late October or early November, which *should* be plenty of time for the major winter gifting holidays, assuming the supply chains cooperate.

We do also want to make this sleek aesthetic IPA chart design available on posters and possibly other objects (tell us what you'd be excited about in the comments below!) but that's going to take a second phase of design work to also make the design look good as a rectangle in addition to a square and figure out some additional colour options to go with a variety of decors. To be honest, running the square design as a special offer is also a bit of a test-run/fundraiser for the rectangular stage of the design, since we've already put quite a lot of our own energy and paying-the-designer into it. If people aren't as excited as we are about this idea, then maybe a rectangular version and/or more colours don't need to exist. Which would be fine too! But, I mean, c'mon.

If you know other linguists or linguistics fans who might be excited to have a snazzy aesthetic IPA chart that they can carry around with them (plus, y'know, get access to the usual Patreon perks like bonus Lingthusiasm episodes and a Discord server that's enthusiastic about linguistics), please help them find out about this before it's too late! We are not planning to ever order a second batch of IPA lens cloths, so this is your one chance to get them.

Whew, that was a long post! Here's the highlights: 

[Image description: What if the International Phonetic Alphabet looked like weird nerd art? Get this design (arrow to previously-described abstract IPA demo) on a handy-to-carry lens cloth (image of those microfibre cloths you clean glasses with; these are not the actual cloths but just to give you an idea of the genre). (Tiny abstract drawing of Lauren & Gretchen silhouettes from the website.) We're placing one bulk order for everyone who's a Lingthusiast patron or higher as of October 5, 2022. Sign up at patreon.com/lingthusiasm]

Stay lingthusiastic!

Gretchen and Lauren

#linguistics #phonetics #International Phonetic Alphabet #IPA #IPA Chart #art #linguistics art #linguistics merch #lingthusiasm #patreon #patreon special offer #special offer #special offer 2022