#have (1) singular paragraph

[basedonconjecture]

WIP Wednesday-Thursday

I was tagged by @mythals-whore yesterday and @ofcrowsanddragons today but, alas, I have very little to show for it except this.

Which issssss mostly just me playing with some ideas about the De Riva Talon before Viago and how to tie some other threads together. Whether it will make it into an actual Thing is tbd but idk I like the vibe I think?

For the rest of her life, she would never catch the scent of a rose without recalling this night. The room was perfumed with the scent of the lush flowers blooming from the vases, freshly cut that afternoon from the garden, and already beginning to droop from the weight of their own crowns. Candles had been lit in preparation of the Talon’s arrival, who was said to hate the dark—but never within earshot. Whether it was rumor only—or a consequence of paranoia of the sort nurtured by power—was a matter for debate, but Selora knew the truth: the woman was going blind. Everyone in her trusted circle made up for the deficit in exchange for their proximity to her. Rather, to her title… for however much longer it would belong to her.

this time I shall tag @muqington, @mercars-musings, @operative-arrow, @complikatedd ( more noodle cat nap >:D) and @thedissonantverses (what if i said this was a plea for more cowboys?) but ignoreeee if you wish <3

[idkplzhalp]

What do you know about Caroline in full? /genq

Some background for those who don't know, Caroline from Portal 2 is my favorite character as of 6 years and at some point I started keeping a big list in which I document everything such as info during development, things from devs/voice actors, debunking theories, literally any of her appearances anywhere and other silly stuff too. I also made an image folder with any potential reference or appearance to her in the series/behind the scenes, which i started to upload to a google drive folder and i need to finish it. When I finally make the entire Caroline post & drive folder, I'd wanna post it to my Valve fact blog @thatvalvefanatic. I'm super into getting canon/official facts about things and Caroline is the funnest for me to do as she's so obscure.

So here's some facts (know I have way more but this is already long enough..) since it'll be awhile since I do the big complete analysis post (or the Caroline lore bible, as I call it) that I've been promising for like 3 years lol!!!

Her heels are red! (This is her face model, Laura Dubuk, when she was at SDCC 2012 with Bill Fletcher, Cave's face, for the Neca booth)

Caroline's name was taken from Jay Pinkerton's (the writer's) mother. Erik Wolpaw says the name also means coincidentally "free man/woman". It's also a variant of the name Charles/Charlie (which is a coincidence to Aperture Desk Job's character Charlie (who is likely more of a reference to Chell)).

She's Argentinan and Ukrainian as that is her face model Laura Dubuk's ethnicity (she's stated she's Argentinian, her family speaks Ukrainian/their last name is Ukrainian (ty to the person who gave me that info!)).

The brand of her dress is "Daniel & Rebecca", an Italian brand made in the 80s/90s. Laura got the dress specifically for Caroline from a thrift store.

Caroline is referenced by Jerry the Nanobot. If you slow his audio down and reverse it, you hear "his injury is not expected to end but she's in charge instead". Hearing is subjective here but that's what I've seen as widely accepted. Though Portal 2 has done similar before with the Ghost of Rattmann track, which was just cut up audio of Marc Laidlaw reading an entirely unrelated paragraph. Or like the Dinosaur_fizzle audios from the radios in Portal 1 that people theorized was Caroline screaming from the radio, when it wasn't that at all as that update came before Caroline was created.

Unlike popular belief, Ellen Mclain did not refuse any of Caroline's lines. People spread rumors that the deleted GLaDOS related lines made her cry and that JK Simmons refused to say his lines due to how they sounded like SA, but that's not true at all.

Also, Caroline is NOT Chell's mother. She's too old and too white to be her mom! GLaDOS' arc towards Chell has been confirmed & implied to be queer/romance-esque. You can see some of that in my LGBTQ Valve post, though I need to update it, and I will be making a singular post just for queercoded GLaDOS since there is SO much. One of Valve' employees, Makani, confirmed Chell was not her daughter.

Cave and Caroline aren't married, confirmed by the Portal 2 guidebook. Though they were still likely good friends, based on some of Cave's cut lines, in which he trusts her to do a lot more.

Cave wanted Caroline to be taken care of and respected as CEO/GLaDOS! That part of his GLaDOS speech had been cut though. Those lines are, "Treat her just like you’d treat me." and "Just make sure she’s taken care of."

Portal RTX has a bunch of hidden codes you can find. There are some you use to change the design of the companion cube. Inputting Caroline's name changes it to the pillow cube!

According to Josh Weier, Caroline wasn't added to the game until one month before its release. Originally she wasn't a part of the story and Cave's assistant was a man named Greg. They didn't want to hire an actor for just a couple lines, so they decided to reuse Ellen Mclain, thus creating GLaDOS' human backstory. Though Greg was reused for Perpetual Testing Initiative and the Cave Johnson DotA announcer pack.

Caroline appears in the spinoff/tech-demo Aperture Desk Job, though only as her portrait. This confirms that she can be in other universes just like Greg, though we don't know what happened to her in this one. She's potentially dead, as Aperture Desk Job had Cave live long enough to be put into the machine. The machine was started and he killed some of the scientists. Also Caroline's portrait there is partially covered, covering her side.

I personally believe Caroline to be biromantic asexual! This one isn't a confirmed fact but more speculation. I think the "she's married- to science!" bit could indicate not being apart of traditional straight relationships, also knowing she was never married to Cave either. We already know GLaDOS is biromantic due to her liking Chell (and in spin-offs liking Claptrap and Batman for a time), and she could be considered ace to her cut line in co-op mode saying she found human reproduction ridiculous. Presumably the same would apply to Caroline.

The "Say goodbye, Caroline!" / "goodbye, Caroline!" Bit is a potential reference to The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950) or Rowan and Martin's Laugh In (1968) as both had bits similar to that, and would make sense for Caroline and Cave to reference due to when the shows aired. Some people interpret that line as Caroline being dumb, though that's not true at all! We know she was intelligent from Cave's high praise of her, and if she was actually making a reference to a TV program then it would be even smarter and show that Caroline probably had inside jokes or references with Cave.

Want You Gone says Caroline and Chell are similar (“She was a lot like you”). If true then Chell, as officially described from the Collaborative Disposition Test, “Resolute and tenacious, you won't quit until a puzzle's solved. Your inability to give up against impossible odds makes you a bad match for cooperative test partners who give up against any odds at all, racing to the internet for answers” Could give insight into Caroline’s personality. The Collaborative Disposition Test could give even more insight into her from Cave’s description “You don't see crises - only challengitunities. you choose to scale like mountains. You're a can-do, shoot-from-the-hip, silver-tongued self-starter. You're a good match for any cooperative test partner, providing they shut up and listen.” Caroline didn’t have much dialogue and we know she did the majority of what Cave asked of her/they worked together for at least 30 years. Caroline may very well be Cave’s testing partner who will “shut up and listen”.

Caroline was in the Steam 25th anniversary artwork! Art by Claire Hummel. It is her and Cave drawn over this meme:

okay that's it for now but I did find an iceberg chart I made a few months ago about her so I'm including it even tho some things gotta be adjusted because it's not 100% correct. It's the same as this but I wanna share it anyways. Happy Caroline Portal 2 lore learning. I'll make a part 2 with more stuff later.

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[signanothername]

How do you see Nm's and Ccino's relationship? Is it different from canon?

Ngl didn’t expect people to be this interested dhdhhdhdh

Kay so, ngl, i’m still kinda refining how I interpret Ccino and his Au as a whole, so what imma say is just a few paragraphs of the gist of how i think of it so far dhxghxhxh

Nightmare found out about fluffytale and by extension Ccino through doing research of different AUs, as Nightmare has a tendency to study AUs to understand how they work and how he can apply it in his own plans/take advantage of them

The reason Fluffytale even caught Nightmare’s attention at all, was for 2 reasons:

1- the Au no longer has any Alternative timelines as there only seems to be one single timeline left, meaning, it’s the one singular unique Au, single main Au with no copies that illustrate different events, and the code of the Au seems completely corrupted, meaning the very concept of new timelines being created is impossible

Nightmare isn’t completely sure why every other timeline seems to have been erased out of existence and why the code is corrupted, but he guesses it’s Error’s work

2- the Au has a cafe which is open to host whoever in the multiverse, regardless of who they are, whether infamous for violence or known for their kindness, whether they are a person who’s part of another Au, or an outcode, it welcomes everyone, including his twin, and by extension himself

Not only did Nightmare see potential in having another set of eyes on the outside world and a great source of info, but even as a source of negativity considering the misery in that universe in general

Nightmare eventually visits the Au himself and watches the cafe from afar for a few weeks before actually visiting the cafe himself

Obviously, with the intent to make a “deal” with the owner of the cafe (Ccino)

Ccino is completely unaware of the state of his Au, thinking that other timelines do exist, and by extension, having a bit of courage to refuse Nightmare’s “offer” at first

Nightmare being the bitch who never takes “no” for an answer, threatens Ccino that he will destroy his Au, and kill his family, and let him watch it happen, which again, Ccino is fine with (lie) as long as he knows there are other timelines in which they live peacefully (he’s not actually fine with it, he’s terrified of Nightmare and his threats, but the idea of other timelines existing gives Ccino a little bit of hope that even if he dies, another version of himself and his brother are out there happy and safe)

And that’s when Nightmare tells him about the state of his Au, and even proving that there’s only this one timeline, and that crushes any sort of hope and confidence in Ccino, and well, Nightmare takes that as a chance to manipulate Ccino into a deal

The deal Nightmare’s trying to entrap Ccino into is for Ccino to be an outside source of info on the multiverse and what happens within it, considering his cafe is open to anyone out there, and an active info source at that, so if Dream were to visit the cafe, Ccino is to report that to him immediately, if anything happens within the cafe that could be good info that might benefit Nightmare, Ccino is to report that to him, if Nightmare were to visit himself, he expects a full report of what’s been happening out there when Nightmare’s been busy with his own nuisances, however Ccino isn’t allowed to provide info about Nightmare or his gang to anyone else

Ccino however, wouldn’t just accept Nightmare’s deal without his own terms, so he tells Nightmare that if he were to provide info, Nightmare’s forbidden from harming his Au or anyone in it (including people who visit his universe from other universes, no matter who it is, even if it’s Dream) which Nightmare (reluctantly) agrees to, and so the deal is made

So now, Ccino acts like an outsource spy to Nightmare without anyone’s knowledge, so an innocent Dream who thinks he can tell Ccino whatever thinking Ccino’s a good confidant would have the shock of his life if he ever found out anything Ccino was told went to Nightmare

Ccino obviously, finds no joy in this, and he even tries to keep somethings from Nightmare, it’s just hard to do that when your soul starts beating fast and fear grips his nonexistent throat and Nightmare catches his fear and starts questioning him :)

Ccino carries a lot of guilt for it, but just like any victim under Nightmare, Ccino is forced to do shit he isn’t proud of or want to do, it eats away at him and is just making his mental health worse than it already is

Ccino hears from Dream about how much Nightmare means to him, and so, since his job is to “provide info” he also relays those sweet conversations to Nightmare, hoping it might stirr something inside his cold soul, Nightmare barely twitches at such comments tho (further crushing whatever false hope he may have)

I plan for Presso (Fluffytale Paps) to also have a big role in the story and how it all connects to Nightmare, but I’m still working on that part so uhh nothing to say about that for now zhxhhdhdhhs, all I know is that I want Persso to also fall into making a deal with Nightmare shshhs

Ngl been working on a comic with Nightmare’s and Ccino’s “deal” but i’m far from done dbbdbxbx here’s a lil snippet tho

[greylittlebird]

“Stansas are illiterate and can’t handle canon” they say in the same sentence they insist Sansa called Arya “Horseface” (when that is clearly a misremembering) and say that Sansa “abused Arya to the point she ruined her self-esteem” when Sansa called Arya ugly literally once in a very unserious way during a fight, and Arya’s insecurity about her looks is about way more than Sansa.

Let’s start with Arya Horseface. In AGOT, in a paragraph that is otherwise entirely complaining about Sansa, Arya specifies that Jeyne used to call her Horseface. Not Sansa and Jeyne, not they, Jeyne. The only thing Arya constantly says about Sansa in relation to her own appearance is that Sansa is prettier than her (by her perception and other people’s). Not that Sansa “relentlessly bullied her” about her appearance, but that Sansa just is considered prettier and Arya is unfavorably compared to her by other people (mainly by implication in that Sansa is frequently complimented for her appearance and Arya isn’t).

It wasn't fair. Sansa had everything. Sansa was two years older; maybe by the time Arya had been born, there had been nothing left. Often it felt that way. Sansa could sew and dance and sing. She wrote poetry. She knew how to dress. She played the high harp and the bells. Worse, she was beautiful. Sansa had gotten their mother's fine high cheekbones and the thick auburn hair of the Tullys. Arya took after their lord father. Her hair was a lusterless brown, and her face was long and solemn. Jeyne used to call her Arya Horseface, and neigh whenever she came near. It hurt that the one thing Arya could do better than her sister was ride a horse. Well, that and manage a household. Sansa had never had much of a head for figures. If she did marry Prince Joff, Arya hoped for his sake that he had a good steward. - A Game Of Thrones - Arya 1

One book later, Arya mentions this again and this time says vaguely “they” called her Arya Horseface. She’s no longer even thinking about who said it, just that someone did.

At Winterfell they had called her "Arya Horseface" and she'd thought nothing could be worse, but that was before the orphan boy Lommy Greenhands had named her "Lumpyhead." - A Clash of Kings - Arya 1

It’s not until later in ACOK that Arya says for the first time in the series that Sansa specifically called her Horseface.

She bit her lip, groping for another name. Lommy had called her Lumpyhead, Sansa used Horseface, and her father's men once dubbed her Arya Underfoot, but she did not think any of those were the sort of name he wanted. - A Clash of Kings - Arya IX

Also worth noting that in this same conversation, literally a couple lines before, Arya had to take a second to remember how old she is so that’s how reliable her memory is this first time she ever “remembers” that Sansa supposedly called her Horseface after mentioning it multiple times and never specifying Sansa said it. Of course she isn’t thinking about Jeyne Poole right now, she’s much more likely to attach that memory to someone associated with Jeyne who is one of the few people on her mind still at this point in her traumatic journey.

The lord regarded her. Only his eyes moved; they were very pale, the color of ice. "How old are you, child?"

She had to think for a moment to remember. "Ten." - A Clash of Kings - Arya IX

Moving on, the broader issue of Arya’s insecurity about her appearance is complicated. There’s not one singular cause for it. One is that Arya is an outsider partially because of her appearance being more Stark-like and less “Southern” which is the conventional standard in an imperialist society, similar to how the eurocentric beauty standards have become the convention in our post-colonized world. And in this world, not fitting that standard and there being any question about whether you’re a “real” member of the highest class is extremely perilous.

Jon had their father's face, as she did. They were the only ones. Robb and Sansa and Bran and even little Rickon all took after the Tullys, with easy smiles and fire in their hair. When Arya had been little, she had been afraid that meant that she was a bastard too. It had been Jon she had gone to in her fear, and Jon who had reassured her. - A Game of Thrones - Arya I

Another factor is, as I said already, that adults around them consistently compliment Sansa’s appearance and not Arya’s. Some even go so far as to insult Arya’s appearance in comparison to Sansa.

Sansa's needlework was exquisite. Everyone said so. "Sansa's work is as pretty as she is," Septa Mordane told their lady mother once. "She has such fine, delicate hands." When Lady Catelyn had asked about Arya, the septa had sniffed. "Arya has the hands of a blacksmith." - A Game of Thrones - Arya I

"Well," Arya said, "my hair's messy and my nails are dirty and my feet are all hard." Robb wouldn't care about that, probably, but her mother would. Lady Catelyn always wanted her to be like Sansa, to sing and dance and sew and mind her courtesies. Just thinking of it made Arya try to comb her hair with her fingers, but it was all tangles and mats, and all she did was tear some out. "I ruined that gown that Lady Smallwood gave me, and I don't sew so good." She chewed her lip. "I don't sew very well, I mean. Septa Mordane used to say I had a blacksmith's hands."

Gendry hooted. "Those soft little things?" he called out. "You couldn't even hold a hammer." - A Storm of Swords - Arya VII

The Blacksmith’s hands line from Septa Mordane (which fuck the Septa, all my homies hate the Septa) comes up again in Arya’s insecurities and her comparisons of herself to Sansa. But Sansa calling her “ugly and hairy like Hodor” that one time doesn’t.

Conclusion/Golden Child vs Scapegoat

I’m not arguing Sansa is completely innocent in Arya’s insecurity, clearly Sansa internalized and to an extent perpetuated these comparisons made by the adults around them and saw Arya as worse than her. But she didn’t start or create this dynamic. This is the classic Golden Child vs Scapegoat dynamic that harms both children and their relationship with each other. You can see this harm when in Sansa’s chapters (which Im not convinced these people actually read except to skim with Bad Faith), a lot of the reason she thinks negatively of Arya is because she is extremely anxious and worried about approval from others. Sansa is constantly worried about being “like Arya”, of becoming the Scapegoat. She is not confident or comfortable with herself either, in her own way Sansa is as insecure as Arya. When Sansa speaks up for herself in the slightest way and dares not to act like a perfectly submissive doll, the immediate response from adults is to weaponize the Scapegoating of Arya to shut her down.*

And Sansa projects that fear and insecurity onto Arya as she’s been taught to by Catelyn and Septa Mordane and others around them. Especially in moments of distress, her fear comes out as “I’m not like Arya, I’m the good one!” not because she’s an evil abuser but because the fear of being “like Arya” has been used to coercively control her. Obviously it’s shitty and unfair to Arya and you can dislike Sansa for it, but the fact is it’s also shitty and unfair to Sansa though perhaps to a “lesser” extent. That’s the nature of this type of abuse.

*as just one illustrative not exhaustive example of that, when Sansa literally just states the fact that Lady is a Direwolf and that her father, whose authority supersedes the Septa, said she could have her. And the immediate response is to denigrate her with an Arya comparison. This illustrates how pervasive this dynamic is in casual circumstances.

"She's not a dog, she's a direwolf," Sansa pointed out as Lady licked her fingers with a rough tongue. "Anyway, Father said we could keep them with us if we want."

The septa was not appeased. "You're a good girl, Sansa, but I do vow, when it comes to that creature you're as willful as your sister Arya." She scowled. - A Game of Thrones - Sansa I

It’s fair to say that Sansa treats Arya unfairly and contributes to the environment of bullying she experienced, and it’s fine to personally dislike her character for that. But to say that Arya’s insecurity about her apparence is because of Sansa “relentlessly bullying her” and that Sansa is an abuser comparable to Viserys (which they say no one actually said and Stansas are “whining and can’t read” but then immediately defended the comparison). And not blame the entire culture of patriarchal, oppressive adults around both girls is absurd and not what the text shows no matter how much y’all wanna say it’s “canon”. We never see Sansa tell Arya she’s ugly except, again, one time that was clearly a childish outburst and is never thought on seriously again. We never see her call Arya “Horseface” and most likely it’s a misremembering as I’ve illustrated.

And to pretend Sansa is not also a victim in this toxic dynamic created by Catelyn and Septa Mordane and the sexist society at large that demands all girls meet the impossible standards even Sansa can’t reach and be protected by at all (which is the point GRRM is making, Sansa unlike Arya fits all the standards and tries so hard to be what she’s supposed to be but still loses because there’s no winning this rigged game no matter how hard you try) is a highly biased and superficial reading. If you don’t like Sansa, if she reminds you of the girls who bullied you in Middle School and you aren’t interested in her perspective, that’s fine, but don’t try to tell her fans who have analyzed her far more in-depth than you have or are interested in ever doing that we’re “illiterate” just because you want to grossly exaggerate her flaws and their impact to suit your bias.

[hannie-dul-set]

six quick and easy hacks to 🆙 the quality of your fanfiction!

as promised, here it is! i’m not here to tell you how to plot out your story, or how to write your characters’ personalities. the tips i’m sharing are more on formatting and structure, secret (not really) cheat codes to instantaneously make your already written work even better! 

my qualifications? being a tumblr hag for over five years (my even more embarrassing pre k-pop writeblr included!) so i’ve unlocked quite a bit of secrets and discovered some eurekas throughout my time here HAHAHAH. anyway, let’s start!

#1 VARIETY IN PARAGRAPH LENGTHS, SENTENCE LENGTHS, AND SENTENCE STARTERS.

nothing turns me off more than seeing paragraph blocks after paragraph blocks when looking for some new fics to read, especially when you’re reading from a cramped up device such as your phone.

when i write a lengthy paragraph, i try to follow it up with a one-liner, or a mid-sized one. but it’s something i consciously keep track of— when i noticed that, “oh, this gdoc is getting a little too wordy, a little too chunky,” i make sure that my next paragraph is significantly shorter than the current one because it keeps the entire page interesting. one to two sentences of lines of paragraphs after another and another doesn’t look pretty. chunks of paragraphs after paragraphs is boring.

make your pages visually dynamic by ensuring variety.

like this, for example.

→ fic: home for the bitchless.

seeing a large chunk of text and a singular line immediately after also sort of forces your reader to stick around and read an otherwise intimidating lengthy paragraph because— oh! what could have possibly led to that singular like of dialogue or thought! #subtlemanipulation you get me? 😔🤙

this rule of mine applies to sentences and phrases within the paragraph as well!

→ fic: love vomit.

and as a bonus, you can use paragraph breaks and cuts to your advantage! manipulating the way a sentence or paragraph ends in a certain way makes your works more rhythmic! and, when you play it around the right way, abrupt cuts and breaks also add the right mood and drama to your work!

→ drabble: the boy who cried wolf.

part three of tip number one (one…we’re still at number one…) is on sentence and paragraph starters. i keep it as a rule of thumb that if i start a paragraph with “you,” or with someones name, i don’t use it again in the next one to avoid monotony. it’s a very miniscule thing really, and i doubt that people notice this HAHAHA but this is something i religiously swear by because repetitions like this are visually boring.

→ wip: sunwater.

of course, this can’t be avoided all the time, and repeating the sentence starter “You” or any other pronoun, word, or phrase can be intentionally utilized to strongly drive a point. just don’t overdo it!

→ drabble: patience, patience.

→ blurb: monsters don’t hide under the bed.

→ fic: the psychology of strawberries.

there are other good and strategic uses for repetitions as well! we’ll get to that later.

lastly, variety in sentence and paragraph starters doesn’t simply mean changing up the first word. things can still get really boring even if you use “you” or a character’s name interchangeably if your sentence structure remains the same.

this, for example, is monotonous.

the structure (and length) of all three sentences are the same. A does this. B does this. A does this. and even if you switch things up but still use the same sentence structure, it still falls flat. case in point, below, a structure i often see in a lot of fics i stumble across.

those are flat. those are boring. they don’t…you know…make you feel something, even when you follow the rule of not using the same starter twice. let me try improving it by adding more variety in the sentences (+ adding a tip that i’ll be discussing right after!)

the word “He” here is used twice to create a rhythm and draw emphasis, but the rest of the excerpt maintains a sense of variety to make the narrative more interesting and compelling to read.

*

#2 PICK A POV AND STICK WITH IT.

before i start a scene, a drabble, or blurb, the first question i ask myself is, “whose point of view do i want it to be in?”

one, it’s a lot neater, more organized, than omniscient point of views in my opinion (unless you’re like a super fucking skilled writer of course HAHAHHA). two, it allows for a bit of mystery, suspense, and engagement because you don’t have access to what other people are thinking about, and three— in line with the first tip— when you know whose brain you’re in when writing, it allows for more dynamic narrations, gives you an excuse to be messy because our internal thoughts are messy as well, and makes the writing a hell of a lot easier when you’re focused on monologuing one person alone!

when writing shorter fics, drabbles, or blurbs, i swear by this rule, no excuses HAHAHAH but when writing longer fics, sometimes i switch around the point of views per scene, just to make a more well rounded story.

sometimes, the point of view doesn’t even have to be any of the main character’s! writing from an external POV is also really fun and adds another layer of interest. see example below, a Jeonghan breakup fic written exclusively from the perspective of the outsiders. very fun idea! 

breakup scene written in Seungcheol’s POV.

another squabble written in Seungkwan’s POV.

→ wip: the breakup soup.

*

#3 REPETITIONS AND THEMES = COHESIVENESS.

this section contains tricks on how to wrap up your fics into one cohesive little present with a pretty ribbon on top! 

first is the use of repetition. use a cool funky line at the beginning of your story, and reuse/rehash/revise it at the end for a neat finish, especially when you have trouble figuring out a way to end your story (lifesaving hack! trust me!) 

i use this mostly in my shorter works—

→ drabble: you’re my bucket list.

→ blurb: louder.

—but it works just as well with longer fics, especially when the repetition is all throughout, and not just at the start and finish.

→ fic: mogi.

sometimes, it doesn’t even have to be a repeated phrase or line! it can be a little gimmick and it’d still work to make your fic cohesive! for example, in the fic below, i use the giving of strawberry candy/strawberry kisses to tie all the different scenes together because this was initially a set of separate drabble ideas wrapped into one long fic.

→ fic: the psychology of strawberries.

and for this one (another ricky fic….yes…..) i use the whole cat metaphor to do the same. 

→ drabble: yours to keep.

the next tip to make your work cohesive is to grab a singular theme, object, whatever, and take advantage of it for your narration HAHAHAHHA this can be better explained by looking at the examples below.

theme: citrus.

→ drabble: citrus in the morning.

theme: storm.

→ blurb: blizzard.

the above examples are my shorter works, but it can work for longer fics as well! just check out this 36k word monster HAHAHAHHA.

theme: seasons.

→ fic: love vomit.

these are very simple ways to make your fic more put together! even if it’s just a simply blurb about a confession, adding a theme to aid the imagery bumps your fic quality to a +++++

*

#4 THROW AWAY THE Y/N’S!

now this one is quite honestly just a personal nitpick HAHAHHAHA but seeing the word Y/N when i’m reading something really pulls me out of my immersion. (and i only stopped using Y/N’s in my fics at the start of my 2023 comeback….so if you see my older works still using it…hahahha please don’t prosecute me).

anyway, you can do this either by embedding it in the narration—

→ fic: star studded baggage.

—or by using nicknames and titles instead!

→ wip: the breakup soup.

→ fic: can’t handle this.

*

#5 GET INTO THE (UN)NECESSARY SPECIFICS.

instead of just saying “Your professor called you,” grab a random last name and say “Prof Yoon asked to see you in his office.” instead of saying you went to the cafe, the mall, the store, grab an actual place or make one up because no one in the world says “they’re going to the cafe to grab a frappe,” (unless the store’s name is actually The Cafe). people say they’re going to Dunkin Donuts or Coffeebreak or wherever.

sure it’s not plot relevant, sure it’s not integral, but little things like this make your narrative and dialogue a lot more realistic and less awkward. it makes it seem like your characters are actually living inside a world of their own.

*

#6 GRAMMAR AND FORMATTING.

these are given HAHA but when i talk about grammar, i mean making sure that the commas and periods are consistently inside the quotation marks when writing dialogue. i mean minimizing the use of italics because overusing it can ruin the reading experience of a good piece (i was guilty of this too!) and i mean making sure that the use of tenses are consistent all throughout (unless if it’s a creative and plot choice), because all these things really matter if you want your fic, drabble, or blurb to be of overall high quality.

and that’s basically it! hope these tips help somehow...hope i’m not revealing my secrets for naught and someone can actually put them to good use HHAHAHHA what’s most important obviously is that you’re having fun with what you’re writing…etc. etc. insert inspirational you can do it speech here.

anyway, happy new year! and happy reading and writing<33

[bloodymiso]

★ pakisabi nalang sa kanya — multifandom x gn!reader

how did they show their love for you pre-confession + how did they confess?

a/n: always wanted to do one of these posts teehee:3 | fandoms: genshin impact, stardew valley, l&co + haikyuu!! | warnings: none!

— through letters “sometimes, love creates a poet.”

words weren’t enough to explain their love for you, but putting some action into it might help. day and night, they put their admiration for you into sweet, beautiful words they wished would help them explain what you had done to their hearts. though they knew those words could never explain even a third(1/3) of what their heart ached to say. once, twice, even thrice a week you’d arrive to school/work with a little note under your desk, locker, or even in your lunchbox. letters filled with toe-wiggling poems, songs, and beautiful paragraphs which overflowed with love in every single line started piling up in your room. they wondered what you even did to their letters, were they rotting away in the trashcan? were they turned to dust by the fire you lit in your backyard? or were they kept safely in a small box under your bed, a heart encircled on its cover? little by little, they added clues to their identity, whether it be a flower which was related to them, or a little trinket from your past encounters. one day, they handed you a letter by hand, after of course getting you on a whole treasure hunt to find out where to go. that little adventure led you to a garden. with you sweaty, stressed out, and confused, they confessed right there.

gi. KAZUHA, diluc, fischl, XINGQIU, kokomi, alhaitham(HEAR ME OUT), charlotte sdv. ELLIOT l&co. kipps(again, HEAR ME OUT) + your faves!! ♡

— quietly “in silence, we often find the deepest connection.”

it took them a while to understand what was happening, the way their hearts beat faster at your mere presence, the way the curve on your lips seemed to infect their own, the way they always couldn’t wait for the next day purely because of you. after hours of staring at the ceiling, they came to a conclusion—it was love. that was all. you weren’t some sorcerer who snatched their heart, nor were you a weirdo who spiked their drink, you were you, and apparently, they liked that. ever since their “awakening” they started doing little things for you. whether it was returning one of your pens they saw on the floor, or refilling your water bottle whenever you were too focused on works/studies. all these little things came unnoticed by you, but they knew they were making a difference

day by day, the spark between you grew. smiles were exchanged as you made eye contact, now, they weren’t afraid to do things for you in the dark, now they could step out of the shadows, and help you as they were. their confession was abrupt, and unexpected at that. as they stood in front of your desk, they held out a singular rose.

gi. NEUVILLETTE, cyno, diluc, XIAO, sucrose, freminet, wanderer sdv. sebastian, leah, penny hq. KAGEYAMA TOBIO, kozume kenma + your faves!! ♡

— proudly “you can’t blame gravity for falling in love.”

oh this little shit. they couldn’t get enough of you, nor could practically everyone else around them, they had no choice! always blabbing about how angelic you were, how your happiness seemed to be so..contagious. “okay so today—“ they started, before their poor friend quickly placed a hand on their somehow always open mouth. “don’t even start.” you’d think people would like to keep their crushes secret, especially to the one they admire but nope! even you knew! get ready for flirting galore. i don’t think they would even need a confession, the whole nation practically knew at this point. there were times you thought their love for you was fake, that they were just joking. i mean, they never actually confessed.

well, until now, of course. they got news to spread around town that they got a lover and that they’ve been spotted at the local cafe which may or may not have caught your attention. now, they stood there, bouquet in hand(coffee in the other) and friends all around.

“so uh, would you like to be that lover?”

gi. TARTAGLIA, KAEYA, baizhu, beidou sdv. sam(?) l&co. LOCKWOOD hq. iwaizumi haijime, OIKAWA TOORU, tanaka ryūnosuke + your faves!! ♡

— through teasing “pride often gets in the way of love.”

oh god did you hate their ass. woke up at 5am just to be early to work/school?oops! they beat you there, now they won’t stop talking about it! they love teasing you, they just can’t stop. sometimes they wonder if the real reason theyre teasing you is to cover up what’s really under their skin, to cover up the hook you pierced through their heart. it ate them up from the inside, but no way were they gonna admit that! if someone’s gonna confess, it better be you first..

they would have confessed rather stupidly. having gone to a bar in the evening with their friends, they called your number(which they got after getting down on their knees and begging) and confessed right there, their voice slurred, it was obvious how many glasses they chugged down. the next day, they remembered absolutely nothing, it took you a few days before finally confronting them about it.

“wait what?! i confessed to you? d-do you like me back?”

gi. TARTAGLIA(again), KAEYA(again), itto, sdv. shane(ig) hq. kuroo tetsurō, TSUKISHIMA KEI, bokuto kōtarō + your faves!! ♡

extra. through songs/music ( kazuha, itto, elliot sdv, tsukishima kei & lucy carlyle) . through food ( XIANGLING, ningguang, emily sdv + me/hj)

(><) wanna support? reblog with tags pookie!!

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[bravoechoes]

So I just read all your MI fics on AO3 and I love it so much. Wonderful dynamics and I love how you have this solid image of who the characters are, the same details across multiple stories. It feels like I genuinely am seeing the same people in different situations. With that in mind, I am desperately curious to know how you think this snippet from "Parlour Tricks" would surface in another setting. Is this Ethan's alienation? His different relationship to masculinity? A case of transmisogyny featuring that "I could be non binary but I've got a job to worry about" post? etc.

"It reminds him of the dinner parties Julia’s friends used to throw, where after dinner everyone would segregate for some reason, the women in the living room, the boyfriends in the garage, and he’d be forced to stand in a circle drinking beer and listening to half a dozen men talk about football, a sport he’s watched maybe five times in his entire life. The usual solution was to just excuse himself and go find Julia, the only person he really wanted to talk to anyway, and she’d invite him to join the conversation in the living room, smiling, and he’d get compliments from her friends about how much of a gentleman he was for wanting to spend time with them, even if Beth’s boyfriend called him a faggot when he kept doing it."

Omg thank you so much 😭😭😭 this is such a beautiful ask to wake up to

My goal with that paragraph was not a comment on Ethan’s masculinity per se but rather a way of figuring out how his inability to fully reconcile his job with civilian life would manifest in very mundane and banal ways. Because like he’s spent most of his adult life travelling around the world working & living with his coworkers, sleeping and eating and living communally, and largely shut out from any form of civilian life. I don’t think those life experiences prepares you well for dealing with the social expectations of white upper middle class suburbia. It’s not that Ethan isn’t aware of gendered expectations but that the ones demanded of him for civilian life are not the ones he has much/any exposure to or experience with.

Like as a baseline I don’t think he watches any professional team sport (how would you keep up with any team or season while doing the job he does lol), which automatically marks you out as weird and probably gay because why wouldn’t you watch sports dude? And professional team sports are a mass standardised ‘vector’ of communication among men in this milieu (and others ofc but just focusing on this context for now), they provide the conditions for extended small talk, in-built ‘nationalisms’ (all teams are geographically based) that allow for in-group/out-group identification, and bonding over a common interest. Sports are a masculine social obligation as much as they are a fun thing people like to watch. And if you don’t participate in that, you are shut out of probably the most universal form of social banter among this group of men. Whereas like I think Ethan can get away talking to women more easily because 1) ken doll 2) women in that milieu don’t have that same monolithic attachment to a singular topic of conversation, so you can more easily jump around, improvise, etc. Because like obviously we see Ethan being charming and knowing how to work crowds, but pulling a comprehensive knowledge of football out of your ass is not really part of that skill set.

And so like there’s a degree of alienation I think Ethan would have towards these expectations while also wanting desperately to emulate them/fit that mould in an effort to “be” a normal guy. And I think we see him achieve that for the most part, but there will always be these little points of failure that remind him that he is still play-acting at being a “normal” person, that for all his work at hiding his job from Julia and pretending he’s a regular person, it’s never going to be enough to cover all the fingerprints his job has left all over his life. Essentially, expanding out the friction in those interactions we see him have at his engagement party at the start of MI3 - weirdly inserting himself into a conversation he’s not a part of (reading lips thing), the guy who is bored out of his mind talking to Ethan about his job at the DoT, him asking Julia if the party is going well (hysterical thing to ask. it’s a party man! about you! have some fun). etc

So to answer your question I think it’s not that he has a troubled relationship to masculinity that would arise in other contexts (I get the impression it’s fairly settled for him) but rather that his inability to fully fit into civilian life would sometimes manifest in gendered contexts that cause problems for him, such as not knowing what the rules of football are 

[lovemyromance]

After I finished reading the books and the bonus chapter I thought there was a 50% chance that the next book could be about elriel and 50% it could be about gwynriel, especially when I saw how popular gwynriel was. I didn’t pick up on any of the lightsinger hints. I feel like most people don’t pick up on them the first time they read the books. Without the lightsinger theory, the bonus chapter seems to introduce gwyn as a possible love interest for az.

With everything we learn in hofas and what Sarah said in the today interview, I think she’s more likely to write elriel. But that doesn’t mean that elucien or gwynriel can’t happen, after all she said she writes based on vibes and she’s prone to change love interests.

*I don't even care if this is a troll ask I already had a draft along these lines saved so thanks for letting me use it*

Walk with me, 🚶🏽‍♀️

I mean, I agree. If I had ONLY read the bonus chapter and none of the other books, then yeah I'd say he starts the BC with Elain and ends with Gwyn. So he could go either way.

But that would be ignoring the rest of the books outside the singular, 5page bonus chapter 🤷🏻‍♀️

Though you're right, truly, SJM can take it any which way she wants. You see it as 50/50 chance between Elriel and Gwynriel, I see it as 99/1, SJM herself could be 75/25 who knows! She could do 0/0 and make Azriel end up with Eris too!

And yet - when you read that last sentence - where I claimed SJM could write Azris endgame just as likely as she could write Gwynriel or Elriel - I'm sure a part of you disagreed, didn't it?

"There's no way Azris is as likely as Gwynriel!"

You're right. It's not. You know that. I know that. And you know why we both believe it's unlikely that SJM will throw away both Elriel and Gwynriel in favor of Azris?

It's because SJM doesn't just "switch love interests" without buildup.

We all knows she can do whatever she wants - she's the author. But I think it's kind of an inaccurate statement to say "she's prone to switching love interests", point blank. She NEVER has done that without proper buildup.

SJM has two ways she "changes" a love interest:

1. A main character has a minor relationship that is summarized in a passing sentence or paragraph long thought about their ex/current lover. They might not have even been in an actual relationship just had romantic feelings at one point. Either way, it's never a focus of the story.

Ex: Hunt & Shahar, Feyre & Isaac Hale, Elain & Greyson, Mor & Azriel (and cassian ig), Bryce & Connor, Hypaxia & Ruhn

2. A main character has a full blown relationship with another main character and they fully explore all stages of falling in love, lust, breaking up, and then moving on to another character.

Ex: Tamlin/Feyre/Rhys; Dorian/Aelin/Chaol/Rowan

She does it both ways. Here's the difference though:

The first method is minor stakes. It's typically just the beginning of a relationship, or a retrospective point of view. There is very rarely any physical intimacy. It is also typically only the female's point of view.

In my opinion, it shouldn't really even count as a love interest switch up. It is so small in the scale of things and it never pans out or is given any importance in the main story. It fizzles out after the first 10 pages (not literally guys chill), basically.

Then we get to the second method of her "love interest switch". She doesnt do this one often, and it takes MULTIPLE books to cover. It is about a MAIN FEMALE character. The Feyre & Aelins, if you will.

Both of those situations were not something that was just sprung on us without adequate build up.

Feyre fell in love with Tamlin. Met Rhys. Slowly fell OUT of love with Tamlin. Then fell in love with Rhys. It took her 3 books.

They did not have a romance in ACOTAR while she was still falling for Tamlin. That would've been like if she went to Calanmai, saw Rhys, and then decided she didn't want Tamlin and only wanted Rhys from then.

Aelin & Dorian and Aelin & Chaol were two relationships that were FULLY fleshed out. She did not abruptly leave Chaol and immediately fall for Rowan. These aren't instances where anything happened abruptly in a bonus chapter or even in ONE book- these "switch ups" happened over multiple books.

Now let's look at Elain and Azriel.

In the context of the series, let's evaluate where these two stand in the two ways SJM does a love interest switch up:

1. Minor character romance switch up

- Are Azriel & Elain minor characters? ❌ no

- Did they share only one sentence or paragraph thinking about each other? ❌ no, they had multiple major scenes together

- Was it from a female POV? ❌ no

- do they only briefly show physical intimacy? Yes ✅

So clearly, Azriel and Elain don't fit into the first type of "switch up" she does. The only criteria they fit is that they have had one scene of minor physical intimacy.

2. Major character love interest switch

- Are Azriel & Elain main characters at this point? Yes ✅

- Did Azriel & Elain get a chance to fully explore their relationship and fall in love? No ❌

- Did Azriel & Elain get multiple books to cover this changing of feelings? No ❌

So clearly, Azriel and Elain don't fit into the second type of "switch up" she does either. The only criteria they fit is that they are both major characters right now.

Now what did we conclude as a result of this long ass post, if yall are still with me on this 10k hike?

Azriel & Elain have had buildup together that cannot be ignored.

They have been the main focus (Azriel's Hybern camp rescue of Elain was VERY similar to Nesta saving/willing to die for Cassain)

They have had clear romantic feelings for each other as evidenced by the bonus chapter

They have obstacles in place now (thanks Rhys).

There's foreshadowing in droves scattered throughout the bonus chapters and books.

The natural flow of the story supports Elriel

The POV before Elain's book is Azriel's not Lucien's

SJM is on the Today show talking about rejected mates

SJM has made Azriel step into the role Lucien should have been playing for Elain

If you're willing to ignore this and say "Gwynriel could have a 50/50 percent chance of happening bc of the singular bonus chapter" ... then go ahead. But don't act surprised when you get the next book in your hands and it's indeed Elriel 🤷🏻‍♀️

There is always a slight chance the author could do anything. That's like if I said "yeah - in every soccer game there's a chance the goalie could stop blocking shots and let the other team win."

Like yes. Quite literally they could do that. It's up to them.

But is it likely? No.

Will it go against everything they've set up and trained for? Yes.

SJM could write Gwynriel. She could write Azris then too, as that has equal buildup. She could write Nezris or Azquin. She could write anything. But that minuscule possibly of "anything could happen" doesn't affect typical calculations when it comes to statistics, so I don't know why it's playing a part here. SJM's plot does not defy the normal laws of physics and chance🙄

So at the end of this long walk, if you're still with me, I just want yall to know that yes SJM could do anything she wants she's the author - but Elriel is the most likely conclusion by far.

[airytificer]

i just remembered that someone in a reblog of 1 of my posts was curious on my take on razor because of my safety tunnels sruvivor post. the one that is actual art of the STS. so uhhh sofry tumblr i'm not sparing the 10 paragraph post because this singular person was curious. you know who you are

apologies, dear razor fans, she is simply insufferable and i am a hater. proceed with caution there is so much text

firstly, her existence makes no sense, how in the WORLD is she a hybrid bestial if the "child logic" chart from pushpin and fossil exists. how is anyone in her pack a hybrid bestial. like are they going to explain that because if one has a child via either spawning stone OR respawn terminal they. aren't hybrids. or usually even the same animal as their parents?? how does razor's pack even exist??? explanation pls?? please don't tell me that she's a wolf-bear hybrid for plot convenience i beg.

other than that, razor also feels a little unreasonably aggressive for someone who is 23. even her packmates don't seem like the type of people to immediately threaten a random person's life because her silly little best friend is fucking dead and they also have nothing to do with it. Actual Grown Woman i tell you, even if she was raised in the forest. her packmates. are better.

speaking on aggressiveness, she is also violent. unreasonably. she hunts survivors; she is omnivorous. gum points this out. razor mutilates a citizen because they wouldn't give directions to a respawn terminal. she has killed fuzzball's classmate because they were "intimidating" her instead of like, idk, being reasonable and indirectly helping fuzzball's school situation. fuzzball didn't even want her to be killed but razor passes it off as like "oooh but it sounded like sheee wanted to kill youuuu" girl you KILLED HER and LIED to YOUR mother so YOU wouldn't get in TROUBLE AND YOU GOT ANOTHER PERSON KILLED AND EATEN IN THAT PROCESS. and fuzzball just goes "maybe you did a good thing" THEY COULDN'T EVEN GET THE HUSK BACK OH MY GYFOSFSUDGGG.

i need an entire paraggraph dedicated to razor and the safety tunnel survivors im so sory

the safety tunnel survivors' situation is dire, their literal only choice to stay completely safe is camping around in the tunnels and eating people. other food sources? probably all consumed by now and they would risk their lives dearly (they are DELICATE OBJECTS mind you, just adds on to the risk even just with the parasites) by going outside. ("it's our only food source" -lava lamp) "those people can't defend themselves" NEITHER CAN THE FUCKING DELICATE OBJECTS. THEY HAVE TO BE COWARDLY OR THEY WILL DIE. they probably know that it's unethical, but they would also have 0 clue on if this apocalyptic event will ever end so what's even the point of worrying about those people's families from their perspectives? it's hopeless for them. sure, wanda COULD go outside to get food. she is a trained assassin. BUT WANDA IS BLIND. THE RISK IS STILL FAR TOO HIGH IN THIS SITUATION. echolocation probably isn't even good enough to avoid parasites (they're so tiny dude)!!!!!! and especially the lage-stage events where the parasites are doing backflips through ways of infecting people. echolocation makes noise and attracts assimilated objects. also, RAZOR IS UNNECESSARILY POWERFUL WHEN KILLING THE SURVIVORS. razor can break A FUCKING FISHTANK, WHICH HAS REINFORCED GLASS, JUST BY ROARING AT HIM. and then she just fucking one-shots the other guys and figuratively dies. why? because they mentioned chowing down on her already-dead best friend. ooo this was TOTALLY just to show off delirium symptoms oghmyfshgjhj. girl this is what i mean by the delicate objects can't even defend themselves.

dragonscale can breathe fire because she is a demon. why can't sticker sheet paralyse and kill razor using his incredibly toxic venom, he's a blue ring octopus, right? LAVA LAMP IS ALSO A DEMON, WHY CAN'T SHE ALSO BREATHE FIRE? oh sorry forgot that the main characters aren't allowed to die sorry plot armour hahaah i hate everything

warhammer, a lawless king, is her father and it genuinely kind of makes her sound more like a mary sue oc because of that. i find it a litle funny.

most of my hate stems from the safety tunnel survivors stuff. it drove me a biiiiit insane. i hope the person who reblogged my post is happy with this.

[sunderingstars]

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ EIDOLONS ⌝

sampo analysis m.list

— what the stars reveal: interpretative analysis, heavily aha!sampo

— word count: 3k (can you tell i'm an english major? :3)

— overview: (as of 2.3) hello and welcome back to sampo theory time! this time, i’ll be looking at his eidolons, their names & art, and how they might factor in to his overarching identity and story. there will be a few conclusions i reference in this post (like eidolons progressing in a linear narrative), so if you want more on that, i highly recommend reading my eidolon names as narratives and eidolon art as facets of character posts first! it’s not required reading though (god i sound like a professor) — otherwise, enjoy!

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

To begin, I would like to humbly say this post will likely be the most nerdy thing I’ve ever posted in my life. I have written entire paragraphs about two singular words for this. Two words. And I have even more I can say about them! But anyways, just a heads up, this is the type of thing you’d probably see spoken by a stereotypical “nerd” archetype in a high school movie. But without further ado, let’s get started!

(Yes, I am sad that I still only have him at E2 despite pulling every time he’s on a banner. And both of these are from event character selectors :))

My main thesis for this analysis is that Sampo’s eidolons follow a similar narrative structure to other eidolon sets in that they start with his backstory and progress to the present (and open-ended future) of where we are in the story; additionally, the placement of these names with the facets of his eidolon art add to further implications for his personality and development. This can lend itself to multiple of my theories — the main ones I will be interpreting for are Aha!Sampo, Emanator!Sampo / Functional Aha, and Dual Consciousness!Sampo.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ AHA!SAMPO ⌝

Starting with Aha!Sampo, I interpret these eidolons as beginning at his “rise” to Aeonhood, then following through to him “spending” some kind of cost in the present/future for whatever his plans are. 

“Rising Love,” his E1, has two important components — “rising” and “love.” “Rising” seems the most obvious to me, as Aeons have been referenced to “fall” before, so it makes sense that they would also be able to “rise.” Additionally, Himeko has explained that Aeons “ascended from the form of intelligent beings” (Parlor Car Dialogue); beyond “ascend” being a direct synonym of “rise,” this shows that Aeons can come from physical and perhaps even humanoid beings. In fact, Aha’s lore in the data bank, while not explicitly stating that Aha used to be mortal, implies the “climbing” of the tree of existence and laughing, which is a very human act. (However, it is good to keep in mind that this is a parable told by the Masked Fools, and given the nature of Elation factions may not be entirely truthful.) In this way, “ascend” and “rise” may be interchangeable, and the “birth” of an Aeon could also refer to the “rise” of a mortal to Aeonic status.

Next is “love.” For this we need to think not as followers of a Path, but as an Aeon Themself. While it may be easy to think “If he’s Aha, it should say rising elation” — 1. That might be a bit too obvious from a writing standpoint and 2. From an Aeonic perspective, Aha may very well view “Elation” as “love.” They may view spreading Laughter throughout the universe as the ultimate form of love, and as such “rising love” could refer to the rising of a being capable of dispersing “love” (Elation) on a wide scale throughout the universe.

After the ascension, or “rise,” to Aeonhood comes Sampo’s E2, “Infectious Enthusiasm.” This is one of the more obvious ones in my opinion, as “infectious” implies a status capable of imposing itself on others — influencing them in ways that are perhaps beyond mortal comprehension — and “enthusiasm” is closely linked to “Elation” both in wording (starting with the letter E) and in connotation. “Enthusiasm” and “Elation” are both high-energy words, carrying the idea of excitement and even mania. I would view this as “Aha proper,” in which Sampo has come into his full identity as an Aeon and is thus capable of dispersing “infectious enthusiasm” onto others (Pathstriders). (Aha is also directly described as having “infectious enthusiasm” in the Simulated Universe!)

“Big Money!”, his E3, is particularly interesting to me because it seems like an intrusion — a departure from the other, more grounded names. The exclamation mark especially lends itself to the exact kind of “infectious enthusiasm” present in his E2, to some kind of encroachment on his previous mortal existence. This ties into my compulsory existence theory, in which Aeons by nature live in a sort of compulsive state, needing to adhere to their given “concept” just by virtue of existence; this is heavily influenced by the game’s discussion of “Primum Mobile”s, or the idea of “restrictions” that come from existing as an Aeon. Aeons that ascend from mortal beings would experience the brunt of this, as their previous state would essentially be overwritten by this eldritch, compulsive concept. 

I think “Big Money!” could symbolize such a change in Sampo. After ascending to Aeonhood from a potentially mortal form, intrusive thoughts of Elation encroach on his very being — the feeling of momentary thrill, of “Big Money!” — likely leading him into his next state: “the deeper the love, the stronger the hate”.

I’m not going to lie, I’m absolutely in love with the name for Sampo’s E4. It links back to so many aspects of his character in a way that sets up an amazing juxtaposition between his outward appearance and inward feelings in so few words! For me, “The Deeper The Love, The Stronger The Hate” highly relates to compulsory existence. As we see in Aha’s splash art, the smiling masks — the Elation, the “Love” — are always at the front in the spotlight, while the frowning masks — the sadness, the “Hate” — tend to be obscured in the background by shadow. 

In a compulsory existence, I can’t imagine how horrible it must be to constantly be forced into performing a singular emotion or concept. In all likelihood, these negative emotions are barely able be felt at all, leading to extremely repressed layers of fear, anger, sadness and, yes, “hate.” “The stronger the love” — the stronger the Elation — means more repression, more hiding, a stronger fermentation of despising one’s own existence lingering in the background like shadowed masks — “the stronger the hate.” In this way, I believe Sampo’s E4 may convey this dual existence, of an existence where one side is so deeply, powerfully out-of-proportion with the other that any emotion from the other side is left to fester unchecked below the surface. 

(Note: The name could also be referencing the talent level-up, which would show the self-aware aspect of his character. This would apply to his E5 as well.)

This hate, of course, is then covered up by “Huuuuge Money!” (E5), because we can’t have those feelings swirling around in a being of pure Elation, can we? they must be taken out with the trash, overshadowed with yet another encroachment of exclamation marks and the thrill of sudden gains. After Sampo’s rise to Aeonhood, it must’ve been a constant battle between these underlying negative feelings and his compulsory, Elated existence — and given the linear progression of most eidolons, this must’ve been a pattern that repeated for millennia, over and over and over again, one he can never escape or solve. Perhaps it still is. 

Which is why, in his E6 “Increased Spending,” I believe Sampo may be “paying a cost” to try to alleviate this issue. Whether by becoming mortal, sectioning off his power to others, passing along his title, or any other number of potential solutions I don’t know, but I feel like he is turning his compulsive nature of Elation to the thrill of the “cost” in the hope of changing some part of this ever-chaotic, ever-stagnating existence. Either that, or it is to further a master plan we the audience don’t know about.

Overall, in terms of Aha!Sampo, I interpret these eidolons of tracking his rise to Aeonhood through his compulsory existence and fermenting self-hatred, all the way to “increased spending” trying to find a way around this problem.

Now, let’s take this a step further and add his eidolon art into the mix. This is where I’ll start to get into some of the conclusions I discussed in my eidolon art as facets of character post.

E1 (Rising Love): Keeping in mind “rising” as potentially referring to the rise of an Aeon and “love” as potentially referring to Aha’s idea of Elation, I see this figure as an ascending or untouchable silhouette; “walking” (or perhaps more aptly, climbing) into a new role. It also creates a distance between a potential “past” mortal form and a “current” Aeonic or ascended one.

E2 (Infectious Enthusiasm): I find it so interesting that “Infectious Enthusiasm” was chosen for the eye-centered eidolon. Since “Infectious Enthusiasm” is so, well, Aha-coded, this matches with the conclusions of first impressions and inciting incident from my eidolon art post. I believe this eye is meant to represent the first true “glimpse” of Aha people get — it is very close to the face without being too personal. It also spotlights Sampo’s unique facial features, mainly the almost condescending furrow of his brow. However, the eye itself has deep shadows, most likely referencing the dual hate within his being. This would be the “inciting incident” of Sampo in his Aeonhood proper, at the height of his power.

(Note: “Infectious” + the focus of an eye may further imply the presence of a “gaze” and the ability to distribute power in an Aeonic way.)

E3 (Big Money!): E3s are by far the most character-specific eidolon, with each character interacting with an important object to them. I feel like money is only fitting for Sampo, since it matches both the eidolon name and his obsession with making money. It very much leans into the “con-man” aspect of his character, and would make sense as the way acquaintances or those he keeps at arm’s length would view him (probably his customers).

I also find it extremely interesting how he is looking down. We see this a lot throughout his mannerisms and idles, with him always seeming to have a condescension that looks “down” on others below him. While this could be just another facet of his character, it also matches up with the way an Aeon may view the mortals around them — no matter how close They get to someone, that someone will always be “below” Them. It’s not even a conscious decision, just a natural byproduct of Aeonic existence, much like casting Their gaze down to bestow power on Pathstriders. Whether Sampo has become truly mortal at this point or not, it’s probably a bad habit to kick regardless. (I would also love to point out how him looking down at the money is also reminiscent of this (albeit more nostalgic and “loving”) face he makes towards Sparkle, a whole human being:)

E4 (The Deeper The Love, The Stronger The Hate): Here, we zoom in even more on his personality. Beyond the superficial impressions people get from seeing him at a glance, we have now entered a more complex emotional understanding — his eye, unlike in his E2, is more faded and shadowed, the hand scratching his head and his smile pointing towards a sort of “act” he puts on for others. This shows multiple dimensions of him: both the charismatic, smiling con-man, and the hatred lurking beneath that façade’s surface. This would be in a more present timeline, highlighting his “fake” and mysterious nature as well as how he is portrayed to people who know him better like friends. It shows a clear dissatisfaction with the façade he has to put up; whether the “love” is also a true emotion to him is up for debate, but either way this eidolon has him balancing between these two sides of his being (potentially balancing between an eldritch and mortal consciousness, or dealing with the aftermath and residual power of a past Aeonhood). (He also seems to be looking down at the spot the masks would match up with if the silhouette was looking down in Aha’s splash art — it is possible that this “hate” refers to the hate he has for his power or the power of the masks. Or, perhaps, this looking down is a general way to symbolize a being of higher power looking down on those below them like Pathstriders.)

E5 (Huuuuge Money!): This eidolon is more casual and comfortable than the others — there seems to be no dual-sided hate, nor does there seem to be as prominent of a focus on obsessive moneymaking in the art itself (the name is a different story). Instead, the main focus is drawn to Sampo’s outfit, the moniker of his existence in Belobog. The upper half of his face is still cut off, but the art seems to be hinting at a potential comfortability in Belobog, as well as the future mystery of his true identity (and if he will choose “Sampo Koski” as his real self). I actually love this combination, because it shows how Sampo may be at his most casual in Belobog; it’s clear he’s made real connections with the people there, and regardless of his motives, it seems to be a place he deeply cares about. This would be his appearance to close friends, most likely those aforementioned connections in Belobog like Natasha or Seele. (However, the looming encroachment of “Huuuuge Money!” still hangs in the air, perhaps signaling a bigger issue with Aeonic consciousness persisting despite his best efforts.)

E6 (Increased Spending): Finally, we get to the core essence of Sampo’s being. This is him at his most vulnerable, his appearance to only a select few special people. His head is tilted, his neck bared, showing clear trust and confidence in this position. The main thing of note here is the similarities between E6 and Aha’s splash art — the same pose and build with a different tilt.

This would mean that Sampo’s identity as Aha is his most vulnerable form of being — the fact of others knowing who he truly is, of wading through his personable exterior to reach the truth at the core of him, is a privilege only a trusted few get. This most likely points towards the “cost” implied by “increased spending,” the idea that, for whatever reason, Sampo’s true identity being revealed at the wrong time or too soon would put him in a less-than-ideal situation. As such, it is something he holds close to his chest (at least in Belobog) either willingly or unwillingly. (Note: This could also reference a past identity as Aha, it does not necessarily have to be something he experiences currently.)

It also shows that the silhouette in the splash art is the “core essence” of either Sampo, Aha, or both. Beyond the masks (much like Sampo’s façade) lies a deeper, truer version of who Aha is. The true Sampo is not the masks or the smiles or the laughs, but the shadowed figure beyond them, the silhouette that holds the hidden emotions of an Aeon.

I would also like to point out that, on the whole, Sampo’s eidolons (and kit in general) focuses on damage over time. Interpretations can be varied, but I personally like to think this further references the idea of “cost,” and that staying in mortal form as Sampo may be hurting him over time just like his DOTs affect others!

Overall, the art for these eidolons paired with the names create a fuller picture of who Sampo might be and what he might be hiding. There are a lot of hidden clues and implications that can be applied to several different interpretations, and I tried to account for multiple in my analysis! The standouts for me are his E2, E3, and E6, but that’s just because of personal preference. Before I conclude, I want to briefly interpret these eidolons for some non-Aha!Sampo theories.

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS ⌝

There are other interpretations to be had, namely Emanator!Sampo and Dual Consciousness!Sampo. Many of the points I made for Aha!Sampo can be applied to Emanator!Sampo, as we know Aha is both capable and willing to give others entire mastery over Their path for shits and giggles. It is possible that Sampo, as either an Emanator or a “functional” Aha or both, could have a similar “rise,” “infection,” and compulsory existence as a result of Emanator status. Additionally, any kind of dual consciousness where Aha is trying to impose Their will on Sampo could contribute to the constant push-and-pull of two schools of emotions — even minds. We could read this as a more literal encroachment of Aha on Sampo’s mindspace, quite literally trying to force Elation into his brain while Sampo’s consciousness fights back. In this way, the “love” and “hate” mentioned could refer to more of Sampo’s feelings towards Aha as a separate or encroaching entity, rather than himself or his own existence.

(Note: This could also work for Aha!Sampo where Aha’s power & status is passed down or won like a sort of crown or title — a “mask” if you will — and Sampo is the latest inheritor/receiver of it. The eidolons would then track from a more recent experience of receiving power and dealing with the encroachment that comes with it. I think it would also lend to much more fear and confusion as this new existence would be a stark departure from Sampo’s previous mortal life.)

(Note 2: Electric Boogaloo: This could also work with a “transformation” theory where Sampo’s more human form and his eldritch-Aha counterpart have two distinct mind spaces, and the “encroachment” of “Big Money!” and “Huuuuge Money!” could be indicative of the literal mental change that happens when he transforms, leading to increased spending (or the “cost”) of him trying to stay in human form as much as possible because he doesn’t like what he becomes when he changes.)

(Note 3: I promise this is the last one: It is also possible that Aha has sectioned off these feelings of “hate” into a separate being — i.e. Sampo — and “The Deeper The Love, The Stronger The Hate” shows that how despite being separate physical beings, Aha and Sampo share an emotional space in which the “love” of Aha directly influences the severity of the “hate” in Sampo. Just a thought.)

Anyways, I find these eidolons super cool! I love how Sampo flips through his bills in his E3 and how his E6 mirrors the silhouette in Aha’s splash art. Even if the Aha! or Emanator!Sampo theories don’t end up being true, there’s some really cool psychological stuff going on that could speak broadly to his relationship with money, gambling, and his own self-image.

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.𖥔 ݁ ˖ જ⁀➴ if you read this far, thank you for doing so! it means a lot to me when people take the time to listen to my silly little theories, so yes, thank you! if you have anything else you want to add or if you just want to talk about these theories (which i am happy to do at literally any time) my askbox is open! hope you enjoyed my nerdy rambling :3

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© analysis by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[campbyler]

ik part of it is that life and work just Be Like That sometimes, but every time i check back on your blog it seems yall are going through chronic ao3 author syndrome. sending love and good vibes your way i hope all three of you are doing ok and can catch a break soon!! (ik suni and thea yall are the ones writing the rest of it but sending love to andi as well)

also any tips on writing longer chapters without them sounding like they’re dragging on? i’m a (more casual) fic writer and my chapters always end up a little shorter than i usually hope they’d be

awake at 3am in a fit of jet lag and laughed aloud upon reading this bc you’re not wrong 😭 i feel like part of it is just timing, like thea’s work has a big busy season during the fall every year and her schedule also varies week by week and even day to day so i know some stretches are more difficult than others by default (rn she has been having to work from home on her weekend or after she clocks out which has been extra rough). my work tends to have bursts of insane work days every few weeks or so, and i just have a shitty daily commute on top of that and will sometimes get home like 12 hours after i left in the morning or something. so honestly there is a nonzero chance one of us is having a subpar time on any given workday i fear, and that schedule is pretty unpredictable given the nature of our very full time jobs. i also think it’s just statistically more likely that when we are active there is a reason for our Grievances to be brought up, either organically because we are coming out of a slump and are complaining about the Horrors or because someone checked in on us in a period of absence and we are giving a quick update, but either way, thank you so much for your wishesssss! thea will be getting a break soon (thank god) and i’m actually entering a bit of a busy stretch at work for the next week or so because we have a grant deadline to meet, which always means 10000 last minute experiments that i have to work into my schedule in the middle of the week and it’s really fun and lovely and great. woo hoo. 🙂

as for chapter lengths, i wish i had more solid advice but my problem is genuinely that i can’t for the life of me seem to trim them down 😭 i guess a part of it is largely how your chapters are structured — i only have a couple chaptered fics outside of acswy, but all of them are planned so that each chapter is quite meaty in terms of content or what i want each scene to accomplish. i will say that the singular thing that consistently drives up my word count is DIALOGUEEEEE!!! a blessing when i’m in a rut or have writers block and am trying to get something down on the page, a menace when im editing a scene transition i left to fill in for later and my wc is right at 29k and im sweating watching the number tick up. i find there’s absolutely nothing wrong with shorter chapters if it’s accomplishing what you hope for and i honestly am working really hard on trying to be more concise, but i do find dialogue to be a good way to slow down a scene that’s maybe rushing or is paced a little quicker than you intended. real conversations often stray off topic, people ramble or get sidetracked or get interrupted by things they’re doing — i love describing people talking while doing chores or eating or whatever because you can break up the dialogue with bits of action — and at least for me, it’s a lot easier to work in some narration or description in with dialogue than it is to just write a couple paragraphs of it straight up, which also sometimes feels a little more blunt and Quick than i intend it to be. one thing we both do a Lot is script out dialogue between characters and then go back in to fill in things like speech tags, action descriptions, inner monologues and thoughts, etc. literally just like:

character 1: ___ character 2: _______ 1, (note on how it’s meant to be said or what they’re thinking/intending to say to cue us in later): _____ 2: _____________ (small description of them moving around/something happening in the background to give a visual for describing later)

so on and so forth. it helps a lot either when we want to establish the setup of a dialogue heavy scene before we forget our inspiration, or we’re feeling a bit too blocked to be able to write more descriptively at the moment, etc etc. it’s a really natural way to focus on the flow of conversation without getting caught up in transitions and repetition of dialogue tags and stuff, and usually is the culprit for a scene taking way longer to finish than expected for me.

all that being said, the times i have actually felt like a chapter is paced too quickly is usually either when the dialogue exchange is too fast and feels like the conversation could be more fleshed out, or maybe likeeee a transition happens a little too immediately and it reads a little bit like one thing happening after the next after the next without much of a pause for expansion. if you’ve managed to get your point across in fewer words and your main concern is driving up the word count, i really wouldn’t worry about it! you could always have someone look at it with a fresh pair of eyes and ask for places they feel could use more explanation or detail (maybe describing a setting more vividly? or giving more insight to some of their thoughts at a certain point?) but genuinely — conciseness is a Skill, and seeing how i have once again accidentally answered an ask with one million words, i’ll actually just trade you some of my internal word vomit right now. here you go -> 🎁

[hami-gua]

Fighting the Landlord Pt. 1

This is purely based off of my experiences playing this gambling game.

Warning: Chinese is used (as usual, translation provided), shit explanation of game, maybe confusing description of cards, gambling game (they're not gambling though, just playing the game).

"Just because your hand looks great doesn't mean the game will run smoothly."

It was peaceful in the Astral Express when a figure plops themselves down onto the long velvet seat. A deck of cards is held in their hands as they beckon for the trailblazer and March to sit. Without a word, trailblazer pulls up a chair and sits in front of the figure while March stares at them confused.

            “What are we doing?” She asked.

            Trailblazer shrugged and answered, “They wanted to show us a new game.”

            “Where’s Dan Heng? Did he not want to join?”

            “Nope,” the figure said, shuffling the cards.

            March sighed and she too pulled up a chair then sat down. She stared at the deck of cards as they were being shuffled. It’s smooth. She thought.

            “So…” the Trailblazer said, breaking the shuffling sound, “Explain the rules.”

            The figure smiled, “The game usually only has three players. The order of the cards goes: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2, and the Jokers. There are small and big jokers. Usually distinguished by colors or the size of the art such as this one,” They paused as they held out two jokers. One with a bigger art and the other with smaller art with a paragraph underneath.

            “That sounds like a lot to memorize…” March deadpanned.

            “The memorization isn’t about the deck in your hands, it’s memorizing what your opponent and teammate placed.”

            “Just what kind of game is this?” Trailblazer asked.

            “A gambling one.”

            March’s eyes widened, “A gambling –”

            The figure quickly cuts her off, “There are points in this game. Three is the max. However, sometimes we change the rules if there are more than three players. In a case where are more than three players, we will use two decks of card and the game becomes a free for all.”

            The figure pauses as they pass out the deck of cards in a counter clock wise. When there are three more cards left, the figure places them down and looks at the two.

            “Who wants to call? I don’t want it.”

            “I don’t either.”

            Trailblazer stared at the cards, contemplating on if they should claim the cards or not. The figure sweat dropped, “You don’t have to –”

            “I’ll take it all!” The Trailblazer said, cutting the figure off.

            “Okay then. March, you and I are now teams. We have to work together to take down the landlord -- who in this case is Trailblazer.”

            “What? You didn’t tell me that part!” Trailblazer whined.

            March shook her head as the figure sighed.

            “It’s too late to turn back now. A decision is a decision. Anyways. Sort your cards and tell me when you all are ready.”

            And so the three of them began sorting their cards, each cautious about accidentally showing their cards. Then, upon finishing, March and Trailblazer simultaneously said, “Done!”

            “Great! Now who has three of hearts?”

            March raised her hand.

            “Because you have three of hearts, you go first.”

            “What card do I play?”

            “Any. You can place a single or a double. If you’re really lucky, a 顺子 (shunzi), when your cards are single but it climbs up such as 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; 连对二 (lian duir) is similar to the previous one, just you have two of the same cards and it climbs up;  三代一 (san dai yi) is when you have three of the same card and you add a singular card to it; 三代一对儿 (san dai yi duir) follows the same rules as the previous one except you add two of the same card instead of a singular card; 飞机 (fei ji), is when you have three of same cards and addition to that, three of the next number; or 飞机带翅膀 (feiji dai chi bang) is basically the same as the forementioned play, but you add either singular or double as the side to act as wings for the plane. But because you are the starter for a trend, you can place a single. I recommend a small number card as you want to get rid of all your small decks. But beware, just because they are small doesn’t mean they aren’t useful. A cluster may prove useful.”

            March sighs, “This really is a lot to take in…”

            “Oops. I rambled…”

            March does as the figure suggested and placed her singular 3. After her, was Trailblazer’s turn. The figure looks towards them and says, “Now you have to up her. Place a card more than three, but only one card.”

            “Huh?”

            “It’s the rule of the game. You have to place a number higher than the previous player, but the number of cards must remain the same.”

            Trailblazer nods as they mere place down a 9. The figure smiles as they place down a queen. This prompted both March and Trailblazer to look at the card placed and back to their hand, wondering if they should play. March decides to pass and Trailblazer does too. The smile on the figure’s face grew wider as they placed cards from 3 to queen. March’s eyes almost fall from her sockets.

            “That’s… a lot…”

            “No fair! How am I supposed to win that?” Trailblazer whined.

            “It’s about luck~ Not just how smoothly your own deck runs, but also the game itself.”

            “I’ll pass.”

            “Me too.”

            The figure places double 4s. March places her double 6s while Trailblazer places their double jacks. The figure passes and so does March, leaving Trailblazer to place double 5s. The figure placed double kings and March passes. Trailblazer looks at their hand and places double aces, hoping to quell the figure.

            “Too bad,” They said as they placed a double 2.

            Trailblazer gritted their teeth and relented while the figure merely shrugs and said, “You guys would’ve lost anyway,” while putting down double jokers.

            “WHAAAAT?” March and Trailblazer both shout, “HOW?!”

The figure sank back into their seat a little, “Luck?”

            “Is that even legal?” March asked.

            “Yes. So aside from the others plays I’ve mentioned, your biggest defenses are bombs and missiles. To create a bomb, you need four of the same number. Such as like four 7s. Only two jokers can create missiles and nothing can beat that.”

            “But there’s three of us? How are we supposed to get bombs and uhh… what was it? Oh! Missiles?”

            Trailblazer and the figure shrugged, “Luck.”

Lmao the amount of shit luck I have playing this game 🥲. The funniest things are cutting my dad off when he thought he made a good move only for him to regret splitting any cards. I may not know how to play mahjong, but this game, I know like the back of my hand. I've never actually gambled with this game before. Well, except maybe pride.

Credits: poemale for the dividers

[wander-wren]

almost escaped the anti-ao3 posts this donation round but of course today i get smacked with a few, so i go hunting for this year’s arguments, which, as expected, touch a lot on palestine.

what i’m seeing here is a shitton of inflammatory language and very few sources, and even fewer sources that aren’t screenshots of That One Tweet. most of the arguments from both sides are made on things that aren’t entirely true. i dislike this. so let’s clear the air a bit, hm?

1) ao3 is a racist/zionist organization

ao3 has had its scandals, including the 2023 management scandal in its full glory, which you can read about at the linked fanlore article. that covers several different areas where ao3 messed up. i will not defend these instances. i will, however, point out that very few of the current anti-ao3 posts mention them.

additionally, there is this fanlore article specifically about the issue wherein a volunteer was told to remove “from the river to the sea, palestine will be free” from their status, which is the singular piece of evidence referenced for ao3’s zionism. it has been spread that the otw banned or kicked out this volunteer, which is untrue; they left voluntarily. the otw also offered to allow the volunteer in question to change the status to “i stand with palestine,” communicating the same message in a less polarizing way.

you are allowed to dislike this decision. i do. but the otw slack is first and foremost a professional space, and they are within their rights to ask for political discussion to be kept out—or, in this case, to a politics channel so it can be opted out of. i am not currently aware of anyone having asked the otw board to ban or otherwise address pro-israel sentiments in the slack server, so i cannot actually make any statements about unequal decisions, because those decisions were not made.

ultimately i do not disagree that otw/ao3 have made poor choices rooted in racism in the past, but i also believe many of these posts discussing it now are performative, inflammatory, and misleading, which is not helpful

2) donating to ao3 during a genocide is bad/selfish/racist/etc

there are always problems in the world. this is literally the same argument as every previous year with new paint on it. people can care about more than one thing.

3) ao3 is a scam/mismanages money/gets more than they need/is horrible for not paying volunteers

here is a post i made last year breaking down ao3’s budget. what’s funny is, i saw a post going on for paragraphs about how they “calculated” that ao3 has 2.8 million in reserves (assuming their 2023 numbers shook out, it is like $1.5 million at best. these numbers are public and easy to find) and that they have “no idea” what to do with it and are deliberately not being transparent about it (they have publicly stated in news posts exactly what that money is for).

one very confusingly-worded post seemed to argue that it is morally wrong to have volunteer library workers, which is the same as ao3? something about master’s degrees? i just thought that was funny because. like. what. do you think the volunteers are the ones with a master’s in library science, friend?

also, people have said it’s a scam because they don’t update the site, and i’m like….what do you want them to update, exactly? i just want more tags wrangled. i suppose that translates to me wanting an update on the servers or whatever bit of hardware is limiting the tag system. otherwise i don’t see why you have to fix a good thing.

4) ao3 hosts evil bad fanfiction

ah, the age-old “child porn” argument. or racism is a big one this year. do i have to get into this one? it’s so goddamn annoying. just read the about page or a wiki article with your eyes. anti-censorship. yada yada yada. also, if you use the phrase “child porn” i do not respect you or take you seriously.

okay, first of all, fanfiction does not meet the definition of csam. it’s fanfiction. it’s fiction. there are tags for a reason. none of it is illegal. most of it has been published in real books for money before. you can hate it, but it deserves to exist, and with the way explicit material is getting deleted off the internet (see: wattpad’s new policies, google drive’s new policies), ao3 is a last bastion in the storm.

5) you should check out end-otw-racism for more helpful info

honestly i thought this movement was dead by now, but i’ve seen a lot of it mentioned today so i went to check. some things i found, scrolling alllll the way back to august:

a pinned post from SEVEN months ago that is several paragraphs of back-patting from the mods about how much “work” and “goals” have been accomplished and how grateful they are to the community. no mention whatsoever of what those goals were or what specifically was accomplished. also says the mods are going on break for a while, which presumably is still in effect

a few posts about the otw’s board meetings for various months, each rehashing how a board meeting runs and when the next one is being held. no information about what questions or comments the organization wants to focus on for each meeting or specific actions supporters should take

post about substack being a nazi site now (this is the only post i fully respect)

more board meeting reminders of no substance

a post reviewing the board elections, going over each candidate. the post acknowledges that no candidates mentioned the campaign or its specific goals, and instead grasps at vaguely related topics as if to show the volunteers are listening to them and they have done something

more board meeting reminders

a post about an update to the board’s strategic plan for 2023, which also acknowledges that the update does not really do anything end-otw-racism wanted it to do. many instances of “could have been a great opportunity to” do what they wanted. this one DOES finally state eotwr’s “recommendations” for the next strategic plan update, which literally all boil down to “more transparency,” which i suppose is fair enough

absolutely NO mention of palestine whatsoever

post on the weibo scandal, which is fine but generic, and again, not something brought up ever again despite being made in AUGUST

here i will give you a reminder that some of eotwr’s goals, particularly the ones around moderation and censorship, were unrealistic given the otw’s mission. while i believe eotwr started with good intentions, it seems to have rapidly dissolved into something performative and did not have solid enough organization to actually make any difference. their silence on palestine (and they are still posting despite the “break”) also makes bringing them up in convos about otw’s potential zionist leanings very weird.

at the end of the day, support ao3 or don’t. your morals and reasonings are your own. just don’t lie about them in ways that can be easily disproved, mkay?

this discourse also made me realize it’s been a minute since i reblogged a proper donations masterpost for palestine, so i am on the hunt for a good, up-to-date one now. feel free to link me any you know of.

[synthshenanigans]

I can't help it so I'm going on a mini rant about one singular line from Light because I'm so incredibly normal about it.

The line by Whole "This human you're being" has so much going on with it that means sm to me & I wish was discussed more.

It can mean, to Heart & Mind, that 1. you shouldn't treat the other half as something below a human being. Heart talking about how cold & uncaring Mind is. A madman thats turning whole into something he shouldn't be. Mind saying that Heart is something weaker than a human. A vile creature that should be left out or thrown away. Or how both their views on Soul are either something to control/that has control and not as a being that's a part of themselves/Whole. Not seeing it as a being with its own thoughts & identity [for the first half of Cacophony at least].

Whole stating that they're all just as important & human as the other and they shouldn't view them as something other than that.

But 2. Whole telling them that they should not only view the other as human but themselves as well.

While yes they do insult the other frequently, they also insult themself a fair bit as well. Mind viewing himself as a machine, something thats supposed to be cold & uncaring. Always having to be right about everything and never fail, otherwise he himself is a failure. Heart calling himself weak & vile. Overly emotional about everything; getting too heated in an argument, being too unhappy with life or himself in general to the point where it all seems too much care for and so he flips to becoming apathetic. Thinking those things make him fail at everything and only make things worse.

Or Soul having trouble seeing himself as something that has its own identity. His own Heart & Mind [and in turn his own head] fighting about what they should be. How they should act or deal with things and how they shouldn't. What roles they're all supposed to fit into. All to the point where Soul doesn't know what its supposed to do anymore or how to be anything which leads him to the Tridential Regicide answer.

And 3. Despite everything mentioned before, all three of them [together or apart] are being Human. That despite the Cacophony they're in, how likely it can happen again & loop back over, they'll still be human no matter what. That it just comes with being human. How they shouldn't strive to never have failures or have ups & downs or to be something others want them to be. That what they are already is enough & that they'll get outta Cacophony permanently one day and they can finally stay whole.

I frickin love Light overall but GOD that line kills me everytime I hear it. Especially when connecting heavily to the album and its characters or ideas it just hits hard & is so nice to hear.

Man I just typed 5½ paragraphs over ONE (1) singular line of a song that I've listed to for over a year and I still will never ever be normal about it.

[kinki-cami]

Well shit

Welp uhh ive been drafted, uhh yeah soo i have to pack the essentials, including some 'casual' clothes. I got my denim look, cant wait to buy the clothes ive actually wanted to wear but this is stillan amazing outfit. Sneakin marsh and doc kirb in my bag as well. Supposedly theyre going to hand me a gun before i go aboard. Not like I'll be using it, it suvival of the fittest, if i escape, the affini cant get me, see? Simple everyone else'll be captured or killed while I'll just be in an escape pod with marsh while the fools who think they can fight, what basically cthulu but plant? I doubt fuckin man eating plants would be stopped by a mere handgun [authors note: i have NOT done research into the power level of human weapons in hdg so im just assuming its equal to the lowest power handgun (thats not a irl pistol) in warhammer since its a similar (not the same) sorta concept, just gone in two conpletely different directions not that it matters to the story, as i dont like using weapons unless i have no out] I mean have they SEEN Little Shop of Horrors? Much less performed it? I didnt think so. Anyway we leave tomorrow, hope i make at least one (1) friend (unlikely).

I'll say a little bout what i dont like doing next diary entry, as a treat totally not bc im breaking the fourth wall with this singular paragraph and that post

[hedgehog-university-au]

"Go to Sleep" means "I Love You"

Okay so I'm obsessed with platonic forms of affection and also the joke about "kissing the homies goodnight" but like in an literal platonic way, and also love having Vector fully take on the Dad role. And as a college student I know the struggle of staying up way too late and needed to be forced to go to bed. So this is a little silly thing I wrote for the boys.

Espio blinked back his weariness as he stared at his glowing laptop screen and labored over how to finish this sentence. Just three more paragraphs to go, and he'd be finish with the first draft of the paper. Then he could go back, make a few rounds of edits and proofread, and he could actually maybe submit it. It was so close.

He'd been sitting in the mostly dark lounge, lit only by his and Charmy's computer screens and a singular lamp, for the last few hours, trying to type this out. His writing speed had significantly decreased as the night dragged on. The quality of his writing might also be decreasing, but his eyes were getting blurry and he couldn't focus enough to re-read anything. He stared at the flashing text cursor at the end of the last word he'd written.

Charmy, the only other person in the lounge, laughed loudly at whatever brainrot video he was watching at this point. Espio glanced up at the noise, blinking again as his eyes tried to adjust away from the light of the computer screen. Charmy laughed again; a prolonged, unhinged set of snickers that indicated he was verging on loopy from being tired. He pulled out his earbuds. "Espio, you-- you gotta see--!" His voice was lost in his fit of snorting laughter.

Espio shook his head. "You already showed me five videos. I need to finish up this paper."

"You're so lame." Charmy pouted as he put one earbud back in. His disappointment quickly disappeared as he started laughing at his video once again.

The door to the lounge burst open, and Vector poked his head in. He was already dressed for bed in a t-shirt and boxers, his eyelids drooping as he glared at them. "Guys, it's 1 am. What're ya doing?"

Charmy attempted to suppress his loopy laughter, which only succeeded in making him laugh more. "Watch-- snort-- watching YouTube," he finally got out.

Espio scoffed, only half-glancing up from his laptop. "At least I'm actually studying."

Vector rolled his eyes. "You've been studyin' all day. You can rest a little too, ya know."

"I have to finish this paper."

"When is it due?"

Espio had enough decency to feel a bit embarrassed. "A week from now?"

"FOR FREAKING SAKE, GO TO SLEEP, ESPIO!"

"It's almost done. Just let me finish it and I'll go to bed." Or at least, go sit in his bed and get his reading done. Maybe then he'd be enough ahead he could feel justified to actually relax...

Charmy piped in, "Yeah, and I'm keeping him company, so I should get to stay up too!"

"More like distracting me," Espio muttered under his breath as he went back to his laptop. He felt a twinge of guilt as the words left his mouth. He didn't really mean it. But Charmy didn't even seem to notice.

"No, you need sleep," Vector told Charmy. "You get all hyper and grumpy when you're tired."

"I'm not tired at all!" Charmy complained. As if on cue, he yawned.

Vector yawned in response, then growled under his breath. "Nope," he groaned, walking towards them. "That's it. C'mon, ya little brats."

Suddenly Espio was being lifted off the couch. A flash of panic hit him, but Vector simply picked him up and flung him over his shoulder. Like he weighed nothing. He grabbed Charmy under his other arm and marched them down the hall.

Charmy protested the indignity loudly. Espio craned his neck to see what Vector was doing with them. Vector stopped at Charmy's room first, kicking the door open with no regard to quiet hours and legit throwing Charmy onto his bed. "SLEEP," Vector ordered, chucking his bee plushie at him. He stomped over and kissed Charmy's forehead, like he was a little kid. Then he wheeled around and carried Espio to his room.

He was tall enough that he barely even had to hoist Espio up to dump him in his loft bed. Vector flung a blanket onto him.

Then he pulled Espio over to the edge of the bed and planted a kiss on the top of Espio's head.

Ummmmm...

What-- what was that? Heat rose to Espio's face. With Charmy he'd thought it was a joke. He did act like a kid sometimes. But Espio hadn't thought...

"Now get to sleep, punk," Vector said. His voice, as always, was gruff and growly. But there was a hint of... affection. He shut the lights out and closed the door.

Espio curled up under the blanket. His mind buzzed. As far as he could remember, he'd never had a goodnight kiss. His parents were not... affectionate people. And he'd certainly never expected one from Vector, of all people.

But it had seemed so natural. Was that what most parents were like? Did they playfully put their kids to bed, with roughhousing and teasing? Did they give their kids goodnight kisses?

Did those kids know how lucky they were?

No, this whole thinking was ridiculous. Vector was his RA. Just his RA. Yeah, sometimes he called him "Father," and Vector would called him "Son," but that was a joke. Surely Vector was just doing the whole thing "for the bit."

But... Curled up on his bed, Espio felt warm. Complete. Like his whole life, some part of his routine had been missing. And Vector had just put in the missing piece. It was ridiculous. But despite himself, there was a smile on his face.

It was strange. There was such a distinct difference between being sent to bed by his parents and sent to bed by Vector. Vector was louder and gruffer and more grouchy than his parents. His parents never yelled at him to go to bed. They said it with the same cold monotone they said everything else in.

And yet, he felt more warmth when Vector called him a brat or a punk than when his parents called him by his name.

It felt like...

It felt like, when Vector said the words "go to bed," he really meant...

"I love ya, kid."