#and to some extent every preference is informed by that existing meaning

[eddiegettingshot]

correct and civil anon lfmsjsjdkd thank you i mean let me not pretend im noble i obviously prefer dom top eddie and have no issues laughing at certain interpretations or interpolations when it comes to the source material but in terms of like the larger social/cultural conversation about the Meaning of various sex acts and dynamics well i do think we could be a little more normal and transparent about what’s happening here or otherwise Think a little more about the implications and such. which is something that applies to not just this but to what i was saying a couple weeks ago about like misogyny in service of yaoi etc. and this is why i like to talk about it

[cavegirlpoems]

So we all hate DnD, but I am kinda curious what are the actually bad ttrpgs?

I know that 3,5e and pf got bloated even more than 5e did, FATAL is a meme, but what else?

I think Chronicles of Darkness tell you the system's gonna be a sleek, streamlined narrative system and then immediately bukakke's pointless fiddly complexity all over everything, to an extent that I never see most STs actually use half the subsystems (does anybody actually like the Doors mechanic?) but also you can utterly break the game if you combine the right merits and powers in a way that I really hope isn't intentional. WoD games all have slightly clunky, lame mechanics but at least in OWoD the mechanics take an extremely simulationist approach of simply modeling the fiction, balance be damned; CoD throws out the simulationism in favour of abstraction and narrativism, but perversely only makes the mechanics more complex, and deploys more weird dice tricks so eyeballing probabilities gets much harder. Everything is fiddly, everything has specific exceptions, and everything good is gated behind weird prerequisites and builds as if the devs thought they were making pathfinder. If you're some sort of weirdo who actually prefers the CoD settings, run them using OWoD mechanics for the love of god.

Shadowrun 6e's character generation is so complex that people have created third party apps that are basically mandatory in order to wrangle it into shape. It's notoriously complex in play with basically every action requiring multiple steps of calculation, to the extent that 'you need to do calculus if you set off a grenade next to a wall' is a meme; when I played we simply never used grenades because we were all to scared of trying to make sense of the mechanics. However, in play a slightly minmaxed mage can make every other party member obsolete by simply summoning an extremely powerful spirit to solve every task. I hated every minute of it.

Pokemon Tabletop Adventures uses d20-based mechanics for trainers, where you roll a d20 vs armour class to hit, and then roll some damage. It also recreates the mechanics of the pokemon video games largely verbatim. Its expected that trainers and pokemon can and will interact despite using totally different systems, and trainers can even learn pokemon moves. Some classes are good at things like 'capturing and training pokemons' while others are good at 'fighting pokemons themselves with martial arts' or 'winning contests' or 'being a film noir detective', but you only get XP or mechanical support for the first ones. Some classes get abilities like 'perfect mind-control, no save' while others get abilities like 'you're better at growing berries'. You are expected to calculate the stats of every pokemon individually, from scratch, for every encounter. Encounters typically feature 5-10 wild pokemons often of multiple species and levels, alongside 3-5 player characters and up to six pokemons per PC. Its a fractal spreadsheet nightmare. Unlike shadowrun, the app to make this insanity playable doesn't exist. Good god. Send help.

On the other end of the spectrum from stupid fiddly crunch, Ten Candles is responsible for the single most miserable ttrpg experience of my life. It claims to be a narrative game which gives players the ability to define the fiction as they go, but fails at this because the GM has secret knowledge that other players aren't privy to, meaning that it invites players to be creatively vulnerable when they have narrative authority, with a chance that they might get their contributions unilaterally overruled due to information they had no way of knowing. Since the game ends with everybody dying automatically, the game inherently leans on the GM to railroad in what's meant to be a colaberative narrative experience. And finally, on a purely practical level, the clever conciet of playing by candlelight and extinguishing candles as the game progresses means that by half-way in you can't read your fucking character sheets or dice, which is less spooky and more irritating. God I hate ten candles.

[ask-codeearasure]

Aromantic and Asexual Characters in Undertale AUs Rant

Aro/Ace rep in the Undertale Multiverse fandom is hardly respected and it's only as of today I am seeing people dissect this attitude, cause it really is a problem and it has bothered me for several years. Even if I wasn't aro/ace myself, it would still bother me to no end, and I keep hearing the same excuses for people sexualizing asexual characters and forcing aromantic characters into romantic relationships. Now here's the thing. I got no issue with other aro/aces in relationships, even romantic or sexual ones, because we all exist on a fucking spectrum of attraction and identity for goodness sake. There is bound to be a variation of representation considering all sexuality in the first place because there is no such thing as two of the same exact people down to the very last detail. That being said, no, there is no inherent issue with having ships involving aro/ace characters and your headcanons of these characters are valid. The problem here is putting EVERY aro/ace character into the same bin of "WELL,,, UHM,,,, ARO/ACES CAN STILL HAVE SEX/ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS SO LIKE, PISS OFF!!!!!" or "WELL QUEERPLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS EXIST, SUCK ON THAT!!!!!" While that may be true TO AN EXTENT, walk with me to this pier. These statements DO NOT apply to EVERY aro/ace person or character. Just because SOME asexuals still have sex, SOME aromantics still feel or crave romantic attraction here and there, and SOME aro/aces have queerplatonic relationships, that DOES NOT mean ALL OF US. What about aplatonic aros? What about apothisexuals/sex-repulsed asexuals? What about loveless or heartless aromantics? What about the other labels I have not mentioned? What about the aros and aces that do not meet the criteria of your own personal satisfaction? Generalizing an entire population of people based on the few that satisfy your preferences isn't doing any good, and if anything, it gives a lot of people a bad impression on who we are in general and just how variable the aromantic and asexual experiences can be. It harms the perception of aromantic and asexual people not only in fandom, but in the real world as well. It still pushes the idea that we all NEED to have romantic and/or sexual relationships (or a close adjacent) in order to have proper recognition and respect from our alloromantic/sexual peers, and that hurts like a BITCH to see.

It's just mean, simply put. Stop it. I see the same kind of shit with characters and people who aren't aro or ace but still have no interest in having relationships. They still get sexualized and brute-forced into relationships either by their own creators or fans (offline peers/family for real life people), and it pisses me off so fucking much. Let us exist and have respect without having to service your amatonormativity at our expense. I know this is ambitious, equating activities in fiction to activities that affect real people, but do you really see a difference between them both being invalidated in this specific context? Aro and ace characters and people still get their identities micromanaged and dismissed by their alloromantic/allosexual peers and it happens in ways that I just specified as well as ways that I have not. Both subjects to this message have that in common, and that is unfortunate. If this message does not apply to you, don't be obligated to take offense. If I was in any way unclear with the statement I intended to send or you want clarification on specifics, please just ask questions. I mean for this post to be informational. -- Sarco

[foreignswaggersession]

Thank you for your IWTV posts and clearing up misconceptions. Tbh I wouldn't be so annoyed if people weren't constantly determined to do as many bad faith readings as possible when it came to Louis and Armand's relationship. Like of course it was a very flawed and very complicated relationship, we know this! But it's so obvious when a fan is making a post about how it was "completely loveless and devoid of sexual intimacy" solely so their own otp could look better. So many examples that others have already pointed out, including that one take about Louis disliking the first TVD performance, so this means that he hates theater in general and prefers Lestat over Armand (excuse me, what?)

Also more than one person trying to say how loumand had more PDA and not just for Daniel in the Dubai interview. But that this meant "every affectionate gesture between them to ever happen including Paris was just for performance" and was not truly genuine compared to what was with Lestat? Um no shit, Louis and Lestat had more of their love scenes behind closed doors. But also consider the context with how things were in NOLA and Louis having to pose as another person (brother, business partner, etc) because of rumors surrounding him and his lover. How due to racial discrimination he couldn't even get into an opera house without playing Lestat's servant. Then skip forward to the 1940s when he believed he can actually be comfortable doing this openly "Paris was a formative sexual liberation", with him having those casual relationships with other men while cruising. To kissing and being affectionate with Armand in public and not give a damn who is watching or if he's being heckled for it. This isn't even trying to reduce Louis' previous relationships either or say they're less important, more that Louis' comfort with how he expressed his own sexuality and romantic gestures developed over time.

As for Dreamstat... guys he's an extension of Louis' inner thoughts (a complex mixture of emotions before Louis was ready to enter a new relationship), but he wasn't present during loumand sex scenes either... and Louis certainly wasn't having sex with Armand just for Dreamstat to watch??

Despite already knowing what's "endgame" some people still can't allow even a single moment of love, attraction and vulnerability between loumand to just exist without twisting it into something else, or making it actually about Lestat or Daniel while propping up their preferred pairing. good lord, I'm tired of this.

🥰thanks anon! i'm not as familiar with tv fandom so maybe i'm not understanding why people are so resistant to acknowledging louis's attraction to armand (even pre-claudia's murder) when they were together in canon. like in both the show and the book (and not in a future book, devil's minion stans). since when are people not allowed to enjoy different relationships at different times? i think it's silly to ignore or misrepresent whole sections of the plot just to feel like your favorite ship is the more romantic(?) or healthier (😂) ship, i guess? but yeah, recognizing any romance or attraction between louis and armand (especially from louis towards armand) makes some people angry, as though it undermines armand's abuse or any future relationship either party will have.

not much to add to what you said - the majority of fans only care about louis to the extent he cares about lestat, so they focus on dreamstat/lestat scenes in s2 and ignore the many scenes without him. then there are fans that can't let go of their s1 headcanons that conflict with new information from s2 (louis tops sometimes. it's just a fact now. please stop being weird about it.) i also hate the refusal to engage with louis's repeated statements about his changing relationship to his sexuality over time. his sexual preferences are not stuck in 1910, and i don't agree with pathologizing louis topping or having sex with men besides lestat (if you're not into it, just say that, but don't act like there's no evidence for louis enjoying a different sex life in the show).

i'm not a solo shipper and i love thinking about louis so it's not hard for me to imagine louis in multiple relationships (and in various positions 🥵), and lucky for me i get to see that on screen! cause that's what the show is about actually! louis! the titular vampire.

[limitless-blue]

wondering what everyone’s favorite food is in the predprey au? Do they have shared favorites? Are the buns obligate herbivores 😭? Is it disrespectful to eat the creature your friend is technically distantly related to?

i've never thought of this!! starting with the last question, it really depends on whether or not hybrids are actually human/animal hybrids or if theyre entirely different species. (for example) would sapnap be half human/half bunny, or is he a different species that evolved with shared ancestors with humans and bunnies, or is he a different species that evolved alongside humans and bunnies in an environment that required it to evolve traits both others have while genetically being neither?

if we're going with option 1, where animals are kinda like pokemon in that they can breed with any other animal and create actual offspring (side note: this also means that we would have to consider hybrids that aren't just 50/50, but 25/75, 10/90, etc, similarly to how we consider ethnicities and those percentages), it would probably be fine? not necessarily rude or disrespectful but maybe a little inconsiderate? like, a lot of team mafia are animals that prey on bunnies, but obvs conter and sapnap know that they've still gotta eat, regardless of what conter and sapnap are, but the team aren't exactly going out and hunting bunnies to eat if they can help it.

for option 2, it begs the question of how the hybrids actually evolved and where they evolved from, because there's the possibility where hybrids evolved and branched off From humans (i.e. humans Are the common ancestor), implying that Homo sapiens don't exist anymore (or at least as we know them), or humans and hybrids share a common ancestor, which implies that there are non-hybrid humans

for option 3, this means that both regular humans and regular animals exist (provided they didn't somehow go extinct (unless humans went extinct due to some event that only affected them, or animals had traits that allowed them to survive that humans didn't have)).

for both 2 and 3, there's also the question of if every hybrid is their own species. like, is sapnap an entirely different species from serpias? even more specfically, are sapnap and conter different species? if they're all entirely different species (in that they can't produce fertile offspring with one another), did they all evolve at the same time? are there some animals who haven't evolved a human hybrid species? and if they are all the same species, how do their genes decide what kind of hybrid they are? does their dna contain the information for every possible hybrid, and only activate certain portions, thus giving each person the traits of one animal and not the others?

also for both 2 and 3, these offer the least amount of disrespect when it comes to eating animals. like, conter and sapnap aren't gonna be offended if their teammates are eating rabbit because that's an entirely different species. they can recognize the similarities but they're not the Same so it doesn't really matter.

as for if the bunnies are obligate carnivores, i would say that everyone is omnivorous, regardless of what kind of hybrid they are. the extent also kind of depends on the question of species/ancestry, in that in option 1, they're all partially human so they still partially have the dietary needs of humans, maybe just leaning more towards one side of the scale according to the other half (ex. sapnap and conter still eat meat but they tend to need less and prefer fruits and vegetables, and the predators would all still be obligate carnivores, but their diet would be a little more balanced/leaning a little more towards humans). although, in options 2 and 3, they most likely still share genetic similarities to humans (the extent of that depends on how long ago they evolved but still), so i feel like it would make sense for them to still balance out between human diets and their animals' diet, but here, they'd probably lean further towards their animal.

as for favorite foods, i don't know :o! just due to the ratio of predators to prey, their food supply is mostly meat, but i imagine even some of the predators (ex. spreen, farfa, shadoune) would also want to have other foods in stock. i am open to other thoughts, though

[4denthusiast]

There's this conlanging idea I've had for a while which I'm probably never going to actually have a proper conlanging project to put it into, so I might as well just post the idea. Consider it free to a good home if you like it. I don't really know all that much about linguistics, so maybe I'm just re-inventing something that already exists, or maybe an actual linguist would analyze what I propose in a different way. Anyway.

Grammatical mood, as I understand it, is the way in which the language marks what a sentence (or clause) is doing. There are a few main ones, indicative for statements, imperative for instructions/commands, interrogative for questions, and subjunctive is also pretty common but feels like a bit of an odd one out as it's only for subordinate clauses in certain contexts.

My thought is: what if grammatical mood were an open class, and you could form new moods on the fly using the rules of the grammar? Statements, questions and commands are the main things you can do with a sentence, but there are more. You can apologise, make a promise, form a contract, perform all sorts of ceremonies, legal and informal, etc.. These are lumped into the category of speech acts, things you can do with language beyond merely communicating. You can split up the major categories into finer divisions too. Imperative covers commands, requests and instructions. There are rhetorical and socratic questions in addition to questions where you actually want to know the answer. It's not that you can't already make these distinctions, but if we're adding loads of extra moods we may as well have these as separate options and fold other language features into this mechanism.

Of the languages I know well enough to say, English and French both mark the mood with a combination of word order changes and verb conjugation, Lojban uses particles, and all three have specific words for certain sorts of question that indicate which bit of the sentence is being asked about.

The word order and conjugation methods doesn't generalize very well, so to implement this as grammar, let's have some grammatical particle that transforms a verb into a mood marker, say "mo". Indicative remains unmarked for brevity, and imperative and interrogative both have reduced forms as single words, "mo ask" -> "ma" and "mo request" -> "morc" or something. Then by saying a sentence whose mood is marked with some verb, you are doing the thing that verb describes, to the extent that is actually possible for you to do as a speech act. This is kind of like "hereby" in English, but more of a core feature of the language. Not every speech act needs a separate sentence, so in some cases the mood marker can stand as a complete sentence on its own.

A lot of the time in English, when you're doing a speech act, the form of the sentence is just grammatically you stating that you do that thing, which feels sort of awkward. With a separate mood for every speech act, you can be more explicit.

For apologies, "Mo apologise, I lied to you."

For wedding vows, "Mo take thee as my wife."

Casting a vote (without paper ballots), "Mo vote for X.", or "I prefer X mo vote."

Want to return a faulty item at a shop, and make it very clear that you are invoking your right to do so, as set out in the law? "You refund this, mo legally insist." or if you're feeling fancy, "You refund this, mo invoke Paragraph [whatever] of the [whatever] Act."

For joke purposes, "I'll definitely do that... mo lie."

mo give examples.

The legal examples are where this mechanism feels most fitting to me. I've seen laws and contracts and stuff say things like "If X invokes Paragraph 2.a, Y has to do such and such.", and it just feels a little awkward, like what does it mean for someone to have invoked a rule? The laws define all these acts you can perform that have legal consequences and to do them you just... say you do? It feels weird. Take that "lawyer dawg" example. It is said (this seems like the sort of thing that might be an urban legend, I'm not sure) that a suspect once tried to invoke their right to have a lawyer present when questioned by saying "I want a lawyer, dawg.", and when the police did not respect this request, the judge ruled it legal because the suspect did not request a lawyer properly (a lawyer dog being a nonexistent thing it is nonsense to request).

Now, would a language with this feature actually be reasonable for everyday use? Would even lawyers actually benefit at all? It doesn't strike me as immediately impractical at least, but I'm not sure it would be useful enough for the feature to actually be maintained in a natural language setting, let alone arise in the first place. Still, I am fond of the idea. It seems like the sort of thing that would have fit very well in Lojban at least. There is a conlanging project I've been doing that's sort of a Lobjan relex, and I guess I could tack it on there.

[kalosian-woods]

(synchro nonnie)

i swear, clemont's inventions need to be studied because his inventions can either actually do something for more than 10 minutes without exploding (clembot mini) or just blow up in everyone's faces

like how does one achieve so many explosions????

Tbf it is a gag first and foremost, in the same league as Brock's love for older women and Cilan's '*insert here* time'! exclaimations. But I do find it something that can lend insight if we look at it in the right angle 🤔

I know you're just talking about the sheer amount of explosions (that everyone somehow survives at point-blank range) (how are they alive?) and YEAH I'm totally with you on that one. I think overall Clem has had only a handful survive their untimely fate, with the most notable being the Clembots (....I mean the OG did survive! Mostly...), could I say the Clemontic Showers?? And also his bag to an extent. I do feel like Clemont does start to work with their latent ability to combust as time goes on (really feeling like he planned it in 'A Stealthy Challenge!', like there was no way he made a decoy that blew up in TR's face without knowing it pls) and later on his inventions do get a little sturdier and it takes outside force for them to go kaboom (e.g. the inventions in 'A Legendary Photo Op!' and 'A Cellular Connection!') (I hate TR for those incidents specifically).

And that sort of leads me to one of the gripes I do have with the anime-- as in I know I should've expected it, it's a gag for the male travelling companion and we have to have those as a staple, but geez he already had the marriage one! And I'm not even saying we take away the fun factor of his inventions! So many times it just explodes because of the air hitting it wrong - but why couldn't we have other causes instead? Some of my friends were talking about different ways that his inventions could blow up like him trying to power it with Pikachu (ambitious goals, really :P) or with his other Electric Types, or some of the Pokemon battling next to it. We can have moments where Clemont can learn and grow through his inventions, even if they failed before, because he is not only a Gym Leader but an inventor too! I think the only eps where we sort of get into the whole 'inventing' part of him (beyond Clembot! and don't get me started on that guy) is 'Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!' and 'A Gaggle of Gadget Greatness!', and idk that's a little sad for me. It's a core part of his personality and informs so much of his arc! He lost the Gym because of one of his inventions! He made a promise to his friend that helped him make an invention and then lost them because of the celebration of its success! So many parts of his life can be drawn back to that.

Anyways, I like to assume that the reason why most of them blow up on their own is because as an S-ranked worrier, Clemont goes on to put so many failsafes and extra features into every invention that inevitably overworks the poor thing. Attracts 'bird-like Pokemon'? Well, he better put in things that attract Flying-Types, but also a majority of those would also be Normal too, right? But also some Pokemon have different preferences, and use sight as well as hearing so he might as well find a way to stop them from thinking too much about the signal but then--

For him to make the perfect invention for times such as the very specific situations they land in, Clemont would have to have thought ahead. And that's a weakness as well as a strength. In moderation it's a powerful tool, but also if you think too much you end up overthinking things. And then overcomplicating your machines. And that stresses them out too, because machines are like people that way. They need a break, and a purpose, and know their limits.

I find it interesting that in the sea of failures, Clembot mini gets to exist lol. Actually Clembot itself is a very cool example, because that bro can survive falling off a building with no damages whatsoever (no, seriously, watch 'Confronting the Darkness!'. what a fever dream), and before that the only examples we have of his inventions have always worked while the ones after it have, for the most part, always failed. When you think about it, Clembot is very much a turning point in Clemont's life: after trudging through Gym Battles and feeling overwhelmed, he turned to making a robot of himself (and as a Gym Leader, specifically). And that worked until it kicked him out because it couldn't recognise itself in the mirror Clemont himself. Bonnie calls out to Clem in Ep3 after the first (but not the last) explosion we've seen, about how it's 'another failure' / how he 'blew it again' (in dub), and idk that's got me thinking. I mean, it could be the explosion itself, or the fact that it didn't fulfil its function. Just like what happened at the Gym.

Maybe he's just trying to make up for the mistake he made beforehand, or he's just trying to live up to the perfection he was lauded for as a child when he lit up a whole city for people and Pokemon alike. I mean, I could get into the whole thing about 'Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!' but that's a whole other ballpark heh. But ig beyond the gag itself, the fact that his inventions have a tendency to explode can be its own arc of sorts for him. To work with new materials and with the Pokemon around him, to reuse what he has, and to connect with those that are still around while not fixating on them as well. Always looking ahead to the future and being resilent, and helping others do the same.

[danganronpa-v3-reimagined]

Welcome to the official Danganronpa V3: Reimagined Ask Blog!

Here, you have the ability to interact with the characters from Danganronpa V3: Reimagined in non-canonical setting in which you can ask them about their emotions, experiences, feelings, opinions, preferences, thoughts, and otherwise. Characters will not question your existence and will generally answer any question that you present them with in their own unique way.

Please take a moment to read through the guidelines of this blog so that you may familiarise yourself with what characters can and can't do. Below the guidelines, there also exists a list of which characters you can talk to.

Ask Box Status: Open, but Low Activity* Ask Box Queue: None.

*This blog will officially "open" in the late summer or early autumn of 2025. Until then, users are are welcome to send generic questions to this blog while waiting for more DRV3:R content to be released.

What are some things to remember?

Anyone is welcome. You are welcome to speak to characters as yourself, your persona, your OCs, as Danganronpa/Fanganronpa characters, and so on. Some characters may be confused if they speak to a version of "themselves," but are unlikely to be opposed to the interaction itself. It should be noted, however, that characters will not be able to see "you." To them, you appear as a small, floating, glowing orb that is the same colour as your blog's main theme or the colour that you sign your message off with.

Don't forget to specify who you are talking to. If you do not specify who you are addressing your question to and your post does not make it obvious who you intended the message to be for, then the moderator will have a random character reply. You can address multiple characters in the same ask if you wish, or even specify that you do not mind who responds.

This blog is based on canon but is not canon itself. All interactions are based off characters’ canonical personalities from Danganronpa V3: Reimagined but are not canonical to the story.

This blog has no impact on the story of Danganronpa V3: Reimagined. Users can not change the events nor the outcome of Danganronpa V3: Reimagined, and the things that they say and/or do will not be referenced or used in any way within the story. Any instance in which events in-game appear similar to events from this blog are purely coincidental.

This blog is only for interacting with the characters of Danganronpa V3: Reimagined. All update posts on the development of Danganronpa V3: Reimagined can be found on the moderator’s primary blog or alternative forms of social media, the list of which can be found [HERE]. If you have any questions for the moderator directly, you should ask them on their primary blog, which can be found [HERE]. The only exception to this rule is if you need clarification on how to interact with this blog, in which you are welcome to ask it here.

Questions will be answered according to a schedule. This blog will be active every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 20:00 to 22:00 (according to the current time zone of London, England), but it may also be active at other times depending on the moderator's free time. This does not mean that users need to be active during these times; they can ask something at any time. Questions will be answered in the chronological order that they were asked. Based on the number of questions received, there may occasionally be a delay in responses.

Questions will be answered at the moderator’s discretion. Questions that do not adhere to the guidelines outlined within this master-post, as well as questions that are inappropriate in nature will be ignored. If a question has been asked more than once, it may also be ignored. The moderator is unlikely to inform a user if their question has been rejected.

What can characters do?

Characters can interact with users. They can interact audibly (through speech) and to a limited extent visually (through sight) and tangibly (through touch). Generally, they will opt to answer requests and questions verbally, but users can, if they wish, show or present characters with items for them to interact with, as long as this does not break immersion. A character does not have to be alive in the canonical story for you to interact with them, meaning that users can ask questions to the "ghosts" of the characters.

Characters can answer questions presented by users. They can answer questions about their emotions, experiences, feelings, opinions, preferences, thoughts, and otherwise, regarding in-game concepts and events, as well as trivial real-world concepts, such as their likes and dislikes for food, games, and more. Characters will be able to talk about events in the story at least one week after they have been available publicly, and posts will note if they contain any spoilers for events that have already occurred.

Characters can remember users, within the setting of this blog only. If a user regularly signs off an anonymous ask with an alias, name, nickname or username; or regularly uses their main account to ask a question (meaning that their username is visible); characters may remember them in the future. Depending on how a user acts towards a character, a positive or negative opinion will be formed, which may in turn impact how the character replies.

What can characters not do?

Characters cannot break the fourth wall. Questions such as, “Do you know that you are a character video game?” “Do you know that everything you are experiencing is being written by someone?” and “Do you know that you are not real?” will be ignored. They also cannot comment on current real-world events. This prevents immersion from being broken.

Characters cannot comment on their identity. Questions such as, “What is your gender?” “What is your sexual orientation?” and “What is your romantic orientation?” will be ignored. This allows users to use their own pre-existing headcanons from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony or create new headcanons specifically for Danganronpa V3: Reimagined, regarding a character’s identity. Characters' ages, birthdays, preferred name/names, and preferred pronouns are specified in the list below the guidelines.

Characters cannot, with certainty, comment on events that have not yet occurred. Questions such as, “Are you planning to kill someone?” “Are you the mastermind?” and “Who is going to kill you?” will be met with confusion and denial. Questions such as, “Who is the mastermind?” “Who will be the next killer?” and “Who will be the next victim?” will be met with refusal to answer or mere speculation. Characters will be able to talk about events in the story at least one week after they have been available publicly, and posts will note if they contain any spoilers for events that have already occurred.

Who can you interact with?

Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist  Age: 16. She is the twelfth eldest/fifth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: April 16th (Aries).  Preferred Name: Angie.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r angie 

Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist   Age: 16. He is the eighth eldest/ninth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: January 23rd (Aquarius).  Preferred Name: Gonta.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r gonta 

Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician   Age: 16. She is the sixth eldest/eleventh youngest student in the class.  Birthday: December 3rd (Sagittarius).  Preferred Name: Himiko.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r himiko 

K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot   Age: 4 (Chronologically), 16 (Designed). He is the youngest student in the class.  Birthday: October 29th (Scorpio).  Preferred Name: Kiibo.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r kiibo 

Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist   Age: 16. She is the tenth eldest/seventh youngest student in the class.  Birthday: March 26th (Aries).  Preferred Name: Kaede.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r kaede 

Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut   Age: 16. He is the eleventh eldest/sixth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: April 12th (Aries).  Preferred Name: Kaito.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r kaito 

Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid   Age: 16. She is the thirteenth eldest/fourth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: May 10th (Taurus).  Preferred Name: Kirumi.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r kirumi 

Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader   Age: 16. He is the fourteenth eldest/third youngest student in the class.  Birthday: June 21st (Cancer).  Preferred Name: Kokichi.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r kokichi 

Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist   Age: 17. He is the eldest student in the class.  Birthday: July 28th (Leo).  Preferred Name: Kiyo.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r kiyo 

Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Bounty Hunter   Age: 16. She is the ninth eldest/eighth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: February 2nd (Aquarius).  Preferred Name: Maki.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r maki 

Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor   Age: 16. She is the fifth eldest/twelfth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: November 16th (Scorpio).  Preferred Name: Miu.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r miu 

Monodam   Age: Not Specified. He is the youngest of all the Monokubs.  Birthday: Not Specified.  Preferred Name: Mr. Monodam.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r staff 

Monokid   Age: Not Specified. He is the third eldest/third youngest of all the Monokubs.  Birthday: Not Specified.  Preferred Name: Coach, Coach Monokid, or Mr. Monokid.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r staff 

Monokuma  Age: Not Specified. He is a middle-aged adult.  Birthday: Not Specified.  Preferred Name: Headmaster, Headmaster Kuma, or Mr. Monokuma.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r staff 

Monophanie  Age: Not Specified. She is the second eldest/fourth youngest of all the Monokubs.  Birthday: Not Specified.  Preferred Name: Miss Monophanie, Nurse, or Nurse Monophanie.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r staff 

Monosuke  Age: Not Specified. He is the eldest of all the Monokubs.  Birthday: Not Specified.  Preferred Name: Mr. Monosuke.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r staff 

Monotaro  Age: Not Specified. He is the fourth eldest/second youngest of all the Monokubs.  Birthday: Not Specified.  Preferred Name: Mr. Monotaro.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r staff 

Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate Adventurer   Age: 16. He is the fourth eldest/thirteenth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: October 3rd (Libra).  Preferred Name: Rantaro.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r rantaro 

Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro   Age: 16. He is the fifteenth eldest/second youngest student in the class.  Birthday: July 1st (Cancer).  Preferred Name: Ryoma.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r ryoma 

Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective   Age: 16. He is the third eldest/fourteenth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: September 7th (Virgo).  Preferred Name: Shuichi.  Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/Himself.  Tag: #drv3:r shuichi 

Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master   Age: 16. She is the seventh eldest/tenth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: January 9th (Capricorn).  Preferred Name: Tenko.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r tenko 

Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer  Age: 17. She is the second eldest/fifteenth youngest student in the class.  Birthday: August 15th (Leo).  Preferred Name: Tsumugi.  Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Herself.  Tag: #drv3:r tsumugi 

[peaceluvsmith]

Human

What does it mean to be human? I can tell you with all my strength that I have absolutely no idea.

But an artist's job is to pretend like they own the answers to every question.

What I find particularly funny is the way I can come up with an answer on the spot. I can instantly travel my mind and puzzle bits and bits of information, facts and opinions to formulate the answer ever so sprinkled with The Artist's touch. It's heavily and easily distinguishable from an answer given by someone who's science-driven. - which, unlike the misconception, The Artist usually is as well. But you can just see the premeditated answer, the marinated details and how they use all the technical terms they can remember.

My way might derive from improvisation, an actor's worst and best friend.

-

I prefer reading opinion texts as if they were facts. Religious texts, reviews, critics, takes and opinions on any aspect or concept. Then I get to reason with it. Not immediatly dismiss it. Maybe that's why sometimes I get so offended by some simple opinions. - you can't control how other people act you can only...

But to some extent, all opinions are fact. All opinions are facts to those owners of such opinions. Maybe that's why I like reading it as such. - The people side. People are so ridiculously important to me.

I guess that's what it means to be a person.

To feel; irrationally. To think you're doing what's best just to realise you were wrong all along. That's what it is. A mistake. Everything is a mistake. The Human is an inevitable being. It can't help but commit mistake after mistake' can't help but fall onto its own face. The Human is a mistake, something that perhaps went too far, farther than they should've gone. But not all mistakes are bad mistakes. - Far from that.

To think; exaggeratedly. Have the necessary complexity to come up with new things, things that didn't exist before. To make something with what they have at hand. That's what it is.

To make. To feel. To think. To destroy. To create. To contemplate. To move. To dream. To be.

That's what it is.

To experience is to be.

A film reel flashing in your mind at the simple realisation of life.

Simple.

That's what it is.

- Nova

[shimmerbeasts]

So, I gave this situation a lot of thought and given that it is the end of the year, that marks the ideal time frame to basically reshape the way, I wanna handle the blog and my muses, going forward. These changes include how my roster functions, certain limitations I am going to give myself, concerning the amount of drafts I have, and changes in verses and some alterations on the ask box. Basically, quality instead of quantity is going to be the name of the game, so hopefully, I can better organise my hobbies and interests and hopefully also my eventual career as an author.

That means first of all: Every single thread I have is dropped. I want a completely clean slate thread-wise, however, dynamics, which we established, can absolutely carry over. I am not gonna flush all the hard work, I did with so many of you (you are all amazing) down the drain.

Now, onto what changes. Let's start with the formal bullshit. I am going to limit myself to twenty drafts and try to adhere to this limit. Those drafts will preferably be plotted. That way, I hopefully can avoid getting overwhelmed, but also really dig into the meat of our threads.

That does not mean casual stuff or crack does not happen. It can still happen, but it will occur with less frequency and those things likely won't carry over much. If I happen to send you an rp related meme, then please just have fun with the drabble. I will try to limit how much I continue those threads.

When it comes to my ask box, I will prioritise unprompted asks and scenarios over rp memes. However, I will always accept headcanon-related memes or memes for me the writer. Again, all these changes will be done to limit the effects of being overwhelmed and to keep my rps at a manageable medium.

When it comes to my verses, I am going to do a massive cut in what types of verses I have. Specifically, I am going to stick to the verses, which basically form a narrative throughline. For most verses, this will basically be the pre-canon, the default and the post-canon verse. Ergo the past, present and future of a muse. This is done so I can focus on what I wanna explore instead of spreading myself too thin. After all, it is better to explore an idea and its ramifications in detail as opposed to expanding and adding five half-baked ideas at once.

My muse roster will have a bit of an update on its purpose. Because of the fact that I will lean even more into the concept of storytelling and character development, the split between primary, secondary and tertiary muses still exists. Except, there is going to be a crucial change now. The tertiary muses will now be rebranded as supports and are not technically muses on the blog. Let me explain what I mean.

Because of my desire to be more story-driven, certain characters will serve as the supporting cast for other muses. These characters help propel the plot forward but also give your muse a different perspective on the muse they roleplay with. They might also reveal information, you would not get otherwise. Think of them a bit like NPCs but due to the big role, they play in the muse's life or what they represent for the muse, they have a bigger chance of emerging. Your muses might even meet them before they meet the actual muse. There will also be other classical NPCs, which your muse might meet under very specific circumstances.

Now onto the actual muse roster:

My primary muses (who will be focussed on the whole Zaunite lore and story) are going to be Silco, Jinx and Vi. They are the ones, whose plotting will come the most naturally and easiest for me. Their supports are Sevika and Warwick/Vander.

My secondary muses (who have different thematic stories and lore as they occur outside of Zaun/Piltover) will be Naafiri and Ahri. Writing them might potentially require a bit more plotting and forethought. Naafiri's supporting characters will be Nasus and Rek'Sai. Ahri's supporting characters will be Yasuo, Evelynn and to a lesser extent Vayne.

I hope that these changes I am making will lessen some self-made stressors. Again, I do apologise for basically dropping everything right now. I promise, I still want to write with everybody here. I just need to sort out how I wanna make things work. So please, everybody do not be intimidated by those changes. I promise, that my enthusiasm for writing and roleplaying remains unbroken.

[all-devouring-history-hub]

I'm sorry that your blog had to end like this. I get needing to start anew and wanting your ideas to be the best they can be, that's why @poisonrozen created @despair-to-future-arcs as a reboot for @neo-world-program-moniter. I'm also sorry that you seemed to feel so isolated since February, and all of the bullying that has gone on for so long in your life. I'm glad you're alive after the devastation of Helene, and I'm just glad in general that you're alive. Even if @a-tale-never-told never comes to pass in any other form, I'll always be fond of the ideas and history that came with it. And if you do decide to bring it back in some way, I'll be there waiting with my own ideas and asks for these crazy kids. Either way, I'd be more than happy to be your friend, and talk with you as much as you please. I mean it

//Yeah. It truly is depressing, laboring tirelessly and churning out posts only for them to be barely acknowledged by anyone outside of my fanbase. In all honesty, I should really count my blessings that I'm even still being brought up in conversation by others who're relatively unaware of this blog's existence, instead of being disregarded and effectively reduced to an unknown.

//Even then, part of this feels like I hold some form of accountability for all of this since my mental instability has undergone a freefall into the pits of deluded fear-mongering, and I never even bothered to have a healthy conversation to disclose my personal opinions about the state of this blog and how others treated it. But if we're being completely real here, who even wanted to talk about this?

//I get it, I'm a bit mentally volatile when it comes to discussing the performance and expectations of the story, big whoop. In no universe does that justify me sardonically berating and harassing the individuals who constantly take time out of their everyday lives to listen to what I have to say, and formulate false perceptions of why the blog isn't accomplishing what it's supposed to provide. We've deviated so far from the original idea of what this blog was supposed to stand for, I find it quite amusing that it took me this long to address my shortcomings.

//Craving a sense of acknowledgment and validation from those around me is an integral part of what fully defines me as a person, and I never meant to come off as being a nuisance or filthy to anyone, but this was really the wrong way to go about it.

//For all of the systematic flaws within ATAT as a whole, I sincerely don't want it to suffer premature death or simply be vastly overshadowed and left to decompose into a pile of waste. Since there's nobody else within the Tumblr community pursuing the subgenre of alternate history as passionately to the extent that an entire blog revolves around it, it lies within me to deliver a model of content that is best suited to everyone's preferences.

//As you can probably tell though, these aspirations automatically did not equate well to gaining the approval of both communities. Nowadays, I'm far more invested in gathering proper evidence to support my hypothetical claims, hence why I have expressed my intentions to take the alternate timeline element much more seriously and in an informative and readable manner.

//In simpler terms, I'm pretty proud of the concept of analyzing and deconstructing various types of lore and offering insightful commentary on said lore, and why shouldn't I be? It sounds like a very engrossing and productive hobby, and there's a hidden market for that sort of genre on Tumblr.

//All in all, I don't necessarily agree with my previous stance, per se. But it inarguably provided quite an insightful look into just how warped my perceptions and idealistic, nonsensical expectations were for this blog. Looking at it, I see this as more of a learning experience to note down and serve as a constant reminder of what I could potentially accomplish instead of penalizing myself for every single misconception and error I promoted.

[fruitycasket]

Explanations under the cut! FRSGM has undergone some changes. :] Sorry for any weird errors, and some things will likely end up put of order. I was using the Tumblr mobile text editor.

FRSGM vs. Bad Ending

Humans Modified Beyond Recogniton: Self explanatory! When the End of the Universe hit, everything with DNA or something similar to mutate got mutated, including humans and other sophonts.

Advanced Medicine: The talgoz and their weird, body horror-y wet-tech is damn reliable once you get over the ick factor. Also regular sophonts to a lesser extent, but using technology we're used to.

Uncertain Future and Extinction: Breaking the order because these two go hand in hand. When the End occurred, every creature on every planet in the known universe was mutated, meaning every species subject to the mutations became functionally extinct. Even if not every member of a species was turned into a living slime mold or something, fertility rates were typically too low to go on. When the remnants of humans, mantidons, skates, and other pre-End species die out, their successors will largely be asexually reproducing organisms... assuming their homelands don't rapidly self-destruct around them. Who knows what they'll do with the things they inherit? Some sophonts with massively increased lifespans want to try and watch these creatures develop and help them out.

Megastructures: Most space infrastructure, particularly ones built for cohabitation. Skates just need things BIG because that comes with the territory of being a manta ray-salamander the size of a polar bear (and larger wingspan-wise), although they prefer width over height. The Ursa Major ship that the story is centered on is also notorious for being gigantic, among other, less advertising friendly things.

Non-Identical Clones: The process by which talgoz seem to reproduce--at least, certain ones do this. It can also happen when a talgoz eats you, as they unravel the brain and digest everything else second, then take the genetic and electric information and "reprint" it. That talgoz (The Pillar) may have just been insane or otherwise under duress, though, since it was aboard the Ursa Major at the time of the End.

Mind Linking: Talgoz do this to any new species they encounter until they believe they have a comprehensive understanding of all its languages and cultures. Ideally, this is done in secret and they never reveal themselves to the target species, leaving the talgoz to wander their territories in search of whatever they need at that moment.

Trains: They look and function much the same as in real life, except in FRSGM, an entire rail system is sometimes piloted by an AI.

Dark Forest Hypothesis: The talgoz operate under these rules and would have never shown themselves to the wider universe if it hadn't abruptly Ended, which put them in a bad spot. Otherwise, the sophonts mostly got along, if only to avoid a brutal war. Skates in particular are not a creature to be messed with. An early encounter with a massive asteroid forced them to adopt heavy duty laser weaponry--their equivalent of nukes.

Expensive Technology: All spaceships, but the Ursa Major space freighter really fits the bill. She was massive, equipped to carry all three sophonts (and then the animals they were tasked to transport), had a very advanced AI copilot (Savior), and contained state of the art planetsick prevention. Apparently. She was a massive experiment, and many animal and astronaut rights groups took issue with her, but she went ahead on her maiden voyage anyway.

Cold, Clinical Langauge: The talgoz. They all talk that way about basically everything including the Horrors, but Bluey / Bright I'd and Bushy Tailed is a notable exception. Not that she's more affected by the horrors, she just picked up a more "emotional" accent from her goat buddies.

Mars Base: The Earthlings have one. It's not terribly important, though. It does still exist and function with a tiny amount of survivors after the End.

Mental Programming: The talgoz again! They are immune to planetsick because of this, as they can essentially expunge it from their neurons like an anti-virus cleaning a computer, and do other weird things like become one with their spaceships and the like. Must be nice, to be immune to going insane!

Nation Collapse: The End of the Universe tends to do that.

FRSGM vs. Sundown

Space Ruins: A natural occurrence in a post apocalypse. They are noxious death traps to any creature that breathes air, as unless someone was around to remove the accumulating bodies, they were free to decompose and contaminate the life support systems of the structures. And then those systems often failed due to lack of upkeep.

Corporate Branding: Found everywhere in space ruins and on-planet ruins. The AI Savior is, in and of itself, part of a corporate brand. It's a chill guy, though.

I Wasn't Given A Name: Many entities post-End, ranging from abandoned AIs still doing their jobs in fetid space stations to creatures on their planets trying to survive. True of any creature we would have considered an animal pre-End.

There Will Come Soft Rains: Happens all over the place, sometimes it's actually people and animals (which is a nebulous distinction post-End, tbh) doing their pre-End routines because they can't think of anything else.

"Trains": Peoplemovers. Cute name, but they're talgoz tech, so they have to look gruesome. People are strapped into these gangly all-terrain nightmares brain-first and ferried around to unknown ends. They're still alive but dormant, despite some people understandably mistaking the passengers for dead.

Frequent Reminiscing: There are few creatures in the universe born before the End that don't miss the old days, for one reason or another.

Loving and Being Loved: Between the violence and doom and gloom, it does happen. It's true! Although the main FRSGM story is, on the whole, a pessimistic and tragic in tone, nice things occurred in that story and in others. For example, a lucky few communities rebuilt small radio and internet systems and began making weird post-End memes to entertain themselves--and were shocked to find others replying. The xenonet is mostly dead... but not completely.

Space Voids: Big ones. It's a big, empty place out there... Emptier still now that all the dead ships and stations are breaking into space junk.

Finality: You can't come back from the End.

Immense Distances: FRSGM encompasses three different planets and their astral territories, and they're all extremely far apart (naturally).

Waiting: To die, mostly. But some are waiting for other things. A daily radio message, a friend to return from gathering water, for that guy who trades for weird fruit, and so on.

Megastructures: The further we get into the post-End era, less so, as they're starting to break apart, but some surviving space communities have kept theirs running.

Total Freedom: For some and not others. The talgoz find it freeing to not have to worry about pesky warmonger barbarians on their case, some find the lack of societal expectations post-End freeing, a few never liked their original bodies to begin with. For the scant few creatures adapted to live in their new, mutant universe, they are free as the first mammals after the meteor were free. Naturally, this also encompasses those who feel free to be evil.

[h-earthwindfire]

Antiseptic Helsinki - Setting

In the beginning, there was nothing. [1]

The world was never so peaceful as during Helsinki’s childhood. [2]

A valley where milk and honey flowed [3]

One ever experienced great temptations. [4]

They learned the meaning of signs by their effects; they had no other meaning for them. [5]

The darkness was serene. [6]

The shadow was warm. [7]

People, as they went about their pleasures, did not normally stop to think that, if certain moderating and weakening influences should happen to be suspended, the proliferation of infusoria would attain its maximum theoretical rate and after a very few days the organisms that might have been contained in a cubic millimetre would take a leap of many millions of miles and become a mass a million times greater than the sun, having in the process destroyed all our oxygen and all the substances on which we live, so that there would exist neither humanity nor animals nor earth, nor do they reflect that an irremediable and by no means improbable catastrophe may one day be generated in the ether by the incessant and frenzied activity which lies behind the apparent immutability of the sun; they busy themselves with their own affairs without thinking about these two worlds, the one too small, the other too large for us to be aware of the cosmic menaces with which they envelop us. [8]

So it was that the Verdurins gave dinner parties. [8] 

Their soirées unfolded as veritable feasts for the senses, where every detail exuded opulence and abundance. From the moment guests crossed the threshold into their lavish salon, they were enveloped in an atmosphere of indulgence.

The banquet tables, laden with an abundance of culinary delights, were a testament to the Verdurins' devotion to culinary excellence. Rare vintage wines flowed freely, their rich aromas mingling with the tantalizing scents of gourmet dishes. Platters groaned under the weight of succulent meats, delicate pastries, and exotic fruits, offering a cornucopia of flavors to delight even the most discerning palate.

And the joy of this couple on reunion was perfect. [12]

Perfection, any kind of perfection, always demanded some kind of concealment. [9]

Their house, although located near the city prison, was protected from its view by a man-made hill, the windows gave in to a huge park framed by trees, where children played. And the wintery days were too dark to see the socialist concrete blocks revealing behind the naked branches.

To maintain this state, filtering the behaviors inside their home was of uttermost importance. First, cuss words disappeared, as exceptect in any form of posh living, but with time the list of banned words grew, replacing every bad concept with positive one, blad adjectives were replaced with superlatives. 

Soon this change went beyond the mere domain of rhetoric. While the TV was still constantly playing, information channels bringing more than often bad news were suppressed from the router, and journal subscription replaced by fashion magazines.

Their preference for entertainment underlied the gradual erosion of the public sphere under systems of commercial media. But entertainment has the merit not only of being better suited to helping sell goods; it is an effective vehicle for hidden ideological messages. Furthermore, in a system of high and growing inequality, entertainment is the contemporary equivalent of the Roman “games of the circus” that diverts the public from politics and generates a political apathy that is helpful to preservation of the status quo. [14]

There is a law of inverse proportion which multiplies to such an extent anything that concerns our own welfare and divides by such a formidable figure anything that does not concern it, that the death of unknown millions is felt by us as the most insignificant of sensations, hardly even as disagreeable as a draught. [8]

For this was a clean World. [10]

Or perhaps the gods, who cannot cleanse men without polluting themselves, can without pollution cleanse the demons who have been contaminated by human contact? [13]

And that day everything changed.

God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. There was still nothing, but one could see it a lot better. [1]

[1] Genesis 1:3-4.

[2] Calasso, Ka Stories of the Mind and Gods of India

[3] Serres, Hominescence

[4] Michelet, The History of France Vol 2

[5] Rousseau, Collected Works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

[6] Hugo, Les Miserables

[7] Harrison Wood Gaiger, Art in Theory

[9] Calasso, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony

[10] Abulafia, The Boundless Sea

[11] Pliny, Natural History Volume 3

[12] The Book of the Thousand and One Nights Supplementary Nights

[13] Augustine, The City of God

[14] Herman Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent

[customeresurfacing]

Deciphering Benchtop Resurfacing Costs Key Factors Every Homeowner Should Understand

Introduction: Benchtop resurfacing offers homeowners an efficient and cost-effective way to rejuvenate their kitchen or bathroom surfaces without the need for a full replacement. However, understanding the various factors that influence benchtop resurfacing costs is essential for homeowners planning such projects. In this article, we'll explore the key factors that impact benchtop resurfacing costs and provide valuable insights to help homeowners make informed decisions about their renovation budgets. 

Material Type and Quality: 

The material used for benchtop resurfacing greatly affects the project's overall cost. Common materials include laminate, granite, quartz, marble, and concrete, each with its own price range and associated installation costs. Additionally, the quality and grade of the material, such as premium versus standard options, will also influence the final cost. Homeowners should carefully consider their material preferences and budget constraints when selecting the material for their benchtop resurfacing project. 

Surface Area and Complexity: The size and complexity of the benchtop surface plays a crucial role in determining the overall cost of resurfacing. Larger surface areas require more materials and labor, resulting in higher costs. Similarly, intricate designs, curved edges, or irregular shapes may increase the complexity of the project, leading to additional expenses for custom workmanship and detailing. Homeowners should accurately measure their benchtops and assess any design complexities to obtain precise cost estimates from contractors. 

Surface Preparation and Repairs: Proper surface preparation is essential for achieving durable and long-lasting results in benchtop resurfacing projects. The condition of the existing surface, including cracks, chips, stains, and imperfections, will dictate the extent of preparation work required. Repairing and prepping the surface may involve tasks such as cleaning, sanding, filling, leveling, and priming, all of which contribute to the project's overall cost. Homeowners should budget for necessary repairs and surface preparation to ensure a smooth and successful resurfacing process. 

Choice of Resurfacing Technique: Benchtop resurfacing cost can be accomplished using various techniques, each with its own cost implications. Common resurfacing methods include painting, refinishing, re-laminating, and applying overlays or coatings. The choice of technique depends on factors such as the condition of the existing surface, desired aesthetics, durability requirements, and budget constraints. While some techniques may offer lower upfront costs, others may provide superior durability and longevity, ultimately impacting the overall cost-effectiveness of the project. 

Contractor Experience and Expertise: The expertise and experience of the contractor performing the benchtop resurfacing can significantly influence the project's cost. Highly skilled and reputable contractors may charge higher rates for their services, reflecting their expertise, quality of workmanship, and customer satisfaction. Conversely, inexperienced or unqualified contractors may offer lower prices but could compromise on quality, leading to unsatisfactory results and potential additional costs for repairs or corrections. Homeowners should prioritize hiring qualified professionals with a proven track record of success, even if it means paying slightly higher fees upfront. 

Additional Features and Customizations: Homeowners may opt for additional features or customizations during the benchtop resurfacing process, such as decorative finishes, edge profiles, backsplashes, or integrated sinks. While these enhancements can elevate the aesthetic appeal and functionality of the benchtop, they also come with extra costs. Homeowners should carefully consider their design preferences and budgetary constraints when incorporating additional features into their resurfacing project to avoid exceeding their financial limits. 

Geographic Location and Market Trends: The geographic location of the property and prevailing market trends can influence benchtop resurfacing costs to some extent. Urban areas and regions with higher living costs may have higher labor rates and material prices, resulting in increased project expenses. Additionally, market demand, supply chain disruptions, and industry trends can impact material availability and pricing, affecting overall project costs. Homeowners should research local market conditions and obtain multiple quotes from contractors to gauge pricing trends and negotiate competitive rates for their resurfacing projects. 

Conclusion: Benchtop resurfacing cost offers homeowners an affordable and efficient solution to update and enhance the appearance of their kitchen or bathroom surfaces. By understanding the various factors that influence benchtop resurfacing costs, homeowners can make informed decisions, set realistic budgets, and collaborate effectively with contractors to achieve successful outcomes. Whether it's choosing the right materials, assessing surface conditions, or selecting experienced professionals, careful planning and consideration of these factors are essential for a smooth and cost-effective benchtop resurfacing experience. 

[shai-manahan]

hello!!! how are you? :) i was wondering if maybe you could teach me how to make diverse characters? like fr i try so hard to make characters from diverse background but always end up with the same old american or british character when there are so many nationalities to be covered!! if i could learn even a fraction of your greatness i'd be grateful to you for life 😗👉👈

p.s. the last time i attempted to make a nepali character i was almost stoned to death so im terrified of creating new characters incase i offend someone accidentally... ehe

It’s not really something I can teach. I can only offer my opinions, and I am certain that other writers of color will not feel the same way in some regards, so please understand that while I made a long post about this, you shouldn’t use this as the only guide you’ll use for writing. This is not a list of everything you need to know. I can see you’re being genuine about it, but there’s a whole lot of extensive research you’ll have to do based on what you’ve said in this ask.

First of all, I think it would be a better idea for you to take a moment and assess why your readers hated the way your Nepali character has been portrayed. Because I’m going to be honest with you; even minority authors are terrified of writing characters that have a similar heritage with them -- perhaps on an even larger extent compared to when white authors write characters of color -- and that fear never really goes away. We also make mistakes. We sometimes make writing decisions that are seen as bad by the people belonging to our communities. But we do try to learn from them, and that’s what matters the most.

So your first step should be to look back, trace your logic, figure out what went wrong and what you can do to prevent it from happening again, and only when that happens can you attempt to write characters that come from varying origins. 

I know it’s easier to avoid all that effort and make it so that every character in your story comes from one or two backgrounds only, but using that reason, wherein an author refuses to write characters of color because they can’t be bothered to research other people’s experiences... it’s honestly a lazy decision that will make your readers of color to feel excluded. 

But of course, writing a harmful representation of minorities is just as bad, if not worse. I am by no means an expert, but I do have some general tips you can perhaps start with. 

1. Research

I know this is already a given, but I cannot tell you how many writers tend to skip this stage. Make sure that your sources are reliable, preferably written or made by people who come from that culture themself, and gather every single bit of information you can while keeping in mind that not everything you see in a single google search would be accurate. Look at the associated stereotypes, study their culture, read memoirs, articles, studies, etc., and start building a backstory for your characters.

2. Get sensitivity readers

This is very important. If you know people who would be willing to give their feedback for free, then good for you. But take note that whether or not you paid for their services, there is a possibility that there could be some bias existing, so please, if you can, get multiple sensitivity readers. One person’s opinion should not be your sole source of information. People who belong to minorities are not a monolith, after all. 

Also! Please, please never accuse anyone of racefaking. There is no excuse to this. Just because a person doesn’t agree with you, no one has the right to accuse anyone of that. I have seen some authors do this... and it’s highly disturbing. (and no, it doesn’t matter if you’re getting the rudest anons on your blog. it’s blatantly racist)

Just keep an open mind about everything you might hear, because some of them will be uncomfortable to your ears and might even seem harsh through your perspective. It won’t even be surprising if some of your testers simply walk away after an argument or two, as it can seriously be tiring to have to explain to an author what they have done wrong -- much more if the author never took an effort to listen -- but like with everything else, you can learn from your mistakes.

3. Writing characters of color should not be a mere part of a checklist

Look, this needs to be said. A mere mention of your character’s nationality is never enough for a representation. I’m including this because I am seeing countless stories where the supposedly ethnically diverse characters aren’t really... diverse. Regardless of their viewpoints towards their heritage, people’s ethnicities do affect the way they live in some ways (as well as their gender, education, sexuality, religion, and social status) and some authors seem to forget that. 

I hate seeing writing advice being phrased like -- “it doesn’t matter where they’re from! just write them as you would any other character!” -- because while there are some points to consider there, people coming from vastly different cultures would be shaped by those cultures no matter what, albeit in different ways.

As such, even things like answering asks on your blog and describing their favorite things aren’t enough to say that you're properly representing them. If you as an author can't manage to include how the character's identity affects them within the narrative of the game, then what is it all for?

Be careful about distancing your character from their culture too much as well. Unless you have another character with the same heritage that balances that out, this is almost like you’re erasing the identity they had to live with. You are not being diverse by doing this; you are simply stripping away the very thing that has molded your character’s life; and it is such a huge disrespect to the people who have been wanting so long to finally see their identities be represented properly for once. You’re refusing to do the work that should have come with using that background. You are stealing it.

If you want to show that you respect the ethnicities from which your characters come, then make efforts to represent who they really are, not just the portions of their habits that you find interesting enough to parade around.

And I will be brutally honest here. If you can replace a minority character's ethnicity in your head while reading the story and everything remains the same, then I have to say the author has failed. Of course, this will only be assessed when the story’s over, because character developments happen. But they do have to happen.

4. Keep reading works made by people from those backgrounds (and support them if you can)

I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on that. Most of the time, it’s a great way to see the relevant issues the writer themself faces daily within their community, and reading their works might provide you some understanding. And yes, my work does reflect mine to some extent.

Some more points to consider:

Avoid tokenizing your characters.  

Don’t expect praise for the diversity you’ll be including, no matter how detailed they will be.

There are simply some cultures you absolutely cannot touch -- those wherein research and even getting help from others would not be enough. When that happens, back off respectfully. I have an Agta background (some call it Aeta) and I am seriously scared of seeing our heritage in a white author’s work, because there’s too many misconceptions even in actual published books to the point that it’s improbable to represent it well unless you have someone who directly comes from that ethnicity.

Research more into cultural appropriation and fetishization, then learn how to avoid them.

Consider your character’s interactions with those who are not part of the minority. There are huge stereotypes here that might be difficult for some to avoid.

If you have to, you can use tropes and stereotypes for the sole purpose of deconstructing them. But I do not advise you to do this unless you have a good grasp of the implications behind them. I use this with some of the ROs in Hollowed Minds, and I can attest that you have to be very careful.

Be mindful of the privilege and prejudices you have as you write.

There is no one perfect way of representing minorities, and characters should also be portrayed as individuals.

Things you might want to avoid when writing BIPOC unless you are one:

Racism

Slavery/Human trafficking 

Colonization

Excessive violence towards that particular group

Segregation systems

Tragedy exploitation in general

I hope this helps a little. I can share some insights as to how I prepared creating my characters in Hollowed Minds, especially with Alonzo and Jade, but you would have to ask more specific questions. I’ve spent a lot of time on figuring out their identities, and there’s so much I want to share that I can’t include here (the post is long enough).

For some parting words, let me just say this. Be prepared to do a lot of revisions. There will be inaccuracies in your writing, and there will be mistakes. No one expects you as an author to be 100% accurate on your first attempt, but do your part, learn to accept valid criticism, and your readers will be a lot more forgiving. After all, while you have the right to include what you want to write, it would be wise to remember some of these have responsibilities attached. Good luck on your writing!

[aerimomo-mellon]

Skz as Boyfriends!

Paring~ SKZ x Reader

Genre~ informative lol

A/N~ yep it was requested! Enjoy 친구 <3

warnings? none. (idk mention of bed related things haha)

SKZ M☁List II Main M☁List

시장……..

✿ Bangchan

We all know this guy and you all have read enough of him I think, to know what imma say. (But for special purposes why not..)

This guy is really really serious about relationships and you are probably the one because he just can’t help loving everything about you.

The fact that he is yours even with all the responsibilities and work he has as a leader and idol is a miracle itself. Therefore consider yourself LUCKY to have the most caring and loving man anyone could have.

Dates- He likes movies hence movie nights and date to the theater are often. If not then he likes taking you to a sports event or the beach cause yeah. ( that vibesssssss you know? )

PDA = 3/10 why?, because as mentioned earlier he is responsible for many important things and he doesn’t want to have any misunderstandings about you and dislikes hate in general. That 30% I gave him was because he would only do PDA if really needed.

In Bed things? Umm not often actually but once in a while yes WHILE he would like it I’m sorry I mean LOVE it..

Con? Yep time! Sorry girl but that time you need, it’s hard for him to fulfill every time.

Cute extra info- Doesn’t mention it but secretly likes when you poke his dimple and say he’s cute.

✿ Minho

There are these majority conceptions, as I said majority but not all cause there are stays who know that he is a sweet guy deep deep down.😉

If you’re his s/o he will give every bit of him to you and expects the same for you. I would categorize him as a boyfriend wo acts like a mom lol. It maybe hard to digest that information but trust me this feeling I have from my gut I can say that he is also very caring. Although he might not say things like I will be there whenever you need me or even I miss you, care for you, but he doesn't need to say this anyway. As action speak more than words our Minho is the same.

Dates- He likes to balance it between what you like and what he likes as well. If you are a new couple he straight up asks what you prefer. Plus point he likes to take you to cat café if you like cats too.

PDA = 0.5/10 why? honestly speaking this guy literally hates to express his feelings. That .5 is literally him agreeing that he is yours and that's it. (when someone asks that is)

In Bed things? I personally think it depends on his mood and not yours. Yup. Somedays he wants you a lot and somedays he likes his space. I'm not saying he hates cuddling but more than that on days he is either tired or stressed he likes to keep that little limit to what happens next.

Con? Attention... you would literally take his cats away from him to get his attention.

Cute extra info- likes it when you call him and yourself Appa and Eomma to his cats.

✿ Changbin

Changbin being the puff/ strong guy(sorry that sounded disturbed lol) We all know how babied he likes to be.

Him as a boyfriend is just very natural, I mean from the way he takes you on a fancy date to even putting nail polish on your left hands. Everything is very genuine and he loves it. The Boyfriend to always apologize first.

I find him as someone to take attraction and the next step which is relationship very seriously. ( the person to be very calculative, it can beat Chan honestly..)Knowing that he is afraid to hurt people in any kind of way, to hurt you even as an accident breaks his heart.

Dates- Our Dwaekki loves taking you on dates with loads of food or snacks. A typical Korean restaurant or even food stalls, he loves seeing you eat than to be broken when you might have some kind of sickness due to eating problems.

PDA = 5/10 why? Because he likes your opinion. He is okay with either if you insist on a particular one but slightly leans on less public knowing. Holding hands and probably hugging you wouldn't be a huge problem for him.

In Bed things? he loves it anytime honestly... if he is horney he is getting what he wants and when you are same goes to you.. you'll get what you want..

Cons? Too much aegyo which makes you do things you don’t necessarily want to. (Stay blessed)

Cute extra info- Praise him! (x100) loves it when you say things like " my boyfriend is so strong.." or even " those arms mmm..."

✿ Hyunjin

I mean do I need to say how into he is with this??? Damn this man is the most prepared man a girl could have. The type to know everything about relationships... from trending couple fashion to even special not important but cute couple events..( that he probably found randomly scrolling through google)

He knows your anniversary, birthday, your moms birthday, dads and basically your whole family knows him too. He also keeps track of your monthly cycle too cause he likes being responsible for you..

He is the type to get jealous very easily BUT wont admit it when you ask. Likes to braid your hair while learning from YouTube.. Likes to buy you so many colorful cute hair accessories. (loves your hair..)

Dates- we all know this guy is fancy so he likes fancy dates but he can also be the complete opposite.. Fancy~ maybe to a art restaurant or even on a fancy boat cause why not.. Normally though~ likes to take you to an art museum or at night to take you on the roof for star gazing..

PDA = 2/10 why? I've probably given hints on my fictions with Hyunjin about this in particular. He prefers keeping this in private and that 20% is with his members (barely)

In Bed things? This guy couldn’t be more romantic lol. Loves being prepared for this buys every thing you both need… and yeah loves it.

Cons? He buys Kammi more hair clips than you sorry….

Cute extra info- likes when you get mad when he cut his hair lol. I apologize to all the stays I know he is cute every time but that long hair just hits different….

✿ Jisung

The craziest boyfriend you could have and will only have. You would low key love your relationship with this man I’m telling ya…

You two would have so much fun like toddlers. He is honestly the cutest, funniest, talented etc.. man you get all in one.. ahaha..

Likes to buy you the most stupid things that actually works for a daily living..( that thing he bought to watch on his phone while laying down 😵)

likes to joke around and talk to you a lot.. gurll listen to him he loves it. He likes to value your problems as well so listens to you too.

Dates- likes to watch anime so you two usually have this anime night cuddle sessions but if he were to plan something outside he would prefer to take you to the amusement part lol.

PDA = 8/10 why? honestly he likes showing you off cause he is fond of you. Basically doesn't care what others think... his parents know you, members, friends outside the group, and stays know you exist lol.. 20% i kept for a reason because he doesn't like it when things get out of handle so he wont do anything to the extent..

In bed things? yes he likes it but that turns up into a tickle fight or even a complete cringe but cute moment..

Cons? He might be very sensitive leading to him being upset and you having to apologize...

Cute extra info- loves it when you kiss his cheeks or just play with them in general..

✿ Felix

I had to bring this up at some point lol.. stays probably know the video where he says his clothes are boyfriend material lol...and yes i agree hands down!

A boyfriend material in his own way ahaha.. i mean we all know he loves to be cared for and loved. That Bangchan! spoiled little youngbok.. i personally feel or think two ways. Either he likes being cared for by you or he takes care for you since now he gets to be the older one..

Felix likes speaking in English so if you know English he would speak both languages as well. Likes to give you blowjobs cause he fell in love with you lol..

Dates- Shopping malls, window shopping, UNO on a picnic lol all these are his favs and so are yours .. Personally speaking he likes to take you to places where he can take lots of pictures of you..

PDA = 4/10 why? I don't know haha yup its just a feeling where I'm in between of two opposite thoughts.. I fell like he shows you to his members and family but not more than that.. (Olivia is most likely to love you)

In bed things? Likes being pampered and loves it when you lead.. happens pretty often actually..

Cons? yes! he like being touchy and so do you but he does it too much which beats ya.. and jealous really easily! and he lets you know that..

cute extra info- compliment him on his freckles and he will blush literally a tomato 🍅..

✿ Seungmin

Sweet really sweet.. he is the typical Korean boyfriend you'll get haha even better than that.

He just likes to talk to you or even look at you all day and keep that puppy smile on him.. The type to sing you a song to sleep or whenever you ask him to. likes to hear you sing too.. attempts to make you laugh but ends up, giving up.

He likes kissing your eyes when they are closed.. or when you just fell asleep after the song likes to give your eyes quick pecks..

Dates- He likes walks and that's why you go on evening walks and return when it's dark.. likes holding your hands. He likes grocery shopping with you, takes you to the rooftop to talk about life and its shitty problems.. Basically effortless things that make your relationship happy for what it is.

PDA = 1/10 why? I mean do I need to tell you this? he is like Minho but just a little bit more obvious.. Prefers to express his love when you two are alone..(that's it)

In bed things? umm yes but no.. i mean he gives in to your begs but I feel like Seungmin is just too into cute cuddling and these things are only when he is very desperate ..

Cons? not much but maybe ignoring you when you ask if he can buy you ice Cream for the fifty-sixth time..(but gives in anyway)

Cute extra info- He likes when he sees you in his clothes.. but doesn't say it and acts like he doesn't..

✿ Jeongin

Baby, baby, Baby..... he is our baby boyyyy but his savage ass towards his Hyungs just breaks it all hahaha…

Jk he is actually really cute, caring, sweet and likes to be protective. It may not suit him but yes he likes scolding people if done wrong to you..

You might be older or younger honestly he doesn’t care.. he is very respectful to you either way. He loves you and is very shy too which you find cute.

Dates- Asks you for your opinion or his Hyungs. He still is very inexperienced so he doesn’t know but sometimes likes it when you two spend time on the swings of some random park with fruit juice 🧃..

PDA = 0/10 why? Cause no no no no not even to his members haha he is just too shy and likes to keep his relationship in its own boundaries.

In bed things? Nope please! I’m sorry stays but I just can’t with Jeongin… (no further details he is just so precious to me)

Cons? He understands very late.. like you trying to say you want to cuddle, kiss etc.. without words he won’t get it. Just fucking be straight forward with our baby.

Cute extra info- honestly everything is cute about him so I can’t fit it here sorry… stays use your imagination here…

끝…