#it's going to give them a structure in which being a decent person is something they should not strive for because it is impossible

[osterby]

"All men are evil... wait, not trans people!" tells me you believe two things. 1.) you believe that trans men aren't man enough to embody the defining traits that ALL men share. Under this logic, trans men who are indistinguishable from cis men (eg, those who pass well and don't publically disclose their medical history) are also evil. 2.) you believe that trans women and AMAB nonbinary people are evil until/unless they out themselves and transition in a way that makes you comfortable.

Tacking "cis" or "straight" or "white" onto it doesn't actually change anything, you are still being gender essentialist in a way that, at the very very least, deals splash damage to the very minorities you pretend to be protecting.

"all men are evil" is radfem/terf rhetoric, but clarifying "all cis men" because you want to signal that you're not transphobic doesn't work because it's still deeply rooted in radfem beliefs. It's saying you believe there's something inherently evil in being born/assigned "male", and you carry it over in how you treat ppl who transition in or out of that gender. "All cis men are evil", is gender essentialist and you can't get around that.

Fucking tired of ppl who think their terf soundbites with a fresh coat of paint are sooo progressive

[indignantlemur]

I debated on sharing this since it's not really much to do with my usual writing shenanigans, but I think perhaps I should.

Recently I was given the written work of someone who is a total stranger (TS for short) to me but acquainted with a friend of mine. My friend has been struggling to give constructive criticism and feedback due to being a little overwhelmed with life a the moment, so he asked me if I would be willing to take a look.

The work was for a fandom that I am aware of and have explored a bit, but not one that I write for or dabble in beyond just enjoying the material. The folks who run the show for the fandom, creators and content-makers, occasionally select from submitted fan works and publish their choices in monthly magazines to be shared around. I figured I was familiar enough with the premise and the universe that I can catch most mistakes and offer decent enough advice, so I said yes.

Then I got the file, and my very first thought was: I am going to break this man.

It was, objectively, one of the worst things I've ever read. There were the bare bones of a good story in there, but it was mired in bad grammar and structuring, bizarre dialogue, utterly absent character development of any kind, and further crippled by a 5k word limit for something that needed a bare minimum of 20-30k words to tell the story it wanted to tell. Entire chapters, dialogue included, were crushed into two-to-three block paragraphs. Dialogue where a degree of decorum and formality would be expected in the setting would have been better suited to a locker room or a pub. No descriptions of any kind were present, leaving the entire story to take place in a shapeless grey void. And this was something TS genuinely hoped to publish in an official magazine.

(For the record, I don't even think my work is good enough to be published without significant rewrites and adjustments.)

In the end, I eviscerated it.

I went through, section by section, chapter by chapter, and laid out what was a problem in terms of character actions, the dialogue, the descriptions, and the overall impressions given versus what appeared to be the intended result. I made it very clear that if TS genuinely wanted to be published at some point, he needed to significantly expand his horizons in terms of technical proficiency and prose.

I was not kind. I was not gentle. I was, objectively, cruel at times and I fully admit to this - witty, yes, but cruel. However, I was cruel with purpose. Every bit of feedback I gave was backed with examples on how to improve and suggestions for resources to review and learn from. Every criticism was explained in detail, with my reasonings as well as my thoughts on possible solutions. I gave examples of accomplished, properly published authors who wrote in similar genres/styles, and who have been very successful and praised for their writing. I suggested movies and TV series that featured the dynamics TS was aiming to portray. I emphasized in particular that the story he was trying to tell could not be crammed into 5k words without sacrificing quality, and if he was determined to keep to that limit to get the story published in a magazine, he needed to pick a single scene - two, at most - and focus solely on that part of the tale.

When I was finished, I sent the veritable tome I had written off via our mutual friend, and waited. I didn't hear anything for a few days.

I worried that perhaps I had been too harsh, that I had crushed this person's desire to write instead of challenged them to improve. I second guessed my choice of words - though not my choice of criticisms, which even in the throes of self-doubt I was firmly convinced were valid. Valid criticisms or no, I soon started to feel that I had been little better than a bully. I wondered if I was perhaps not a safe person for a new writer like TS to send their work to, if I should make a point of declining in the future to prevent further harm. I felt very conflicted on multiple levels.

Then, after several days had passed, my friend sent TS's first rewrite over to me.

TS listened to everything I said, and he genuinely took it to heart. While I was worrying over carelessly crushing a creative soul, he was apparently absolutely thrilled to get honest, detailed feedback instead of the bland, polite 'it's good' commentary that he'd been getting from his peers. No one had ever done that for him before. He was motivated to improve, and by god did he ever.

Even at first blush the rewrite is a massive improvement on the first draft. It's not perfect, it likely won't be for some time yet, but the sheer amount of improvement alone was remarkable.

I am so, so proud of him. The man got a dissertation on everything he was doing incorrectly, poorly, or just generally wrong - and instead of giving up or getting upset, he sat down, read it all the way through, and thought to himself: Finally!

There's not really a specific lesson here. I will probably be more mindful of my phrasing in the future, certainly, but I am also very aware that if I had held back those criticisms and complaints TS would not have improved as much as he did. I would have been just like all the folks he'd shown his work to previously, who could hardly have glanced at it at all before giving an impersonal thumbs up and sending him on his way.

There is merit, I think, to being cruel in order to be kind - but balance must be maintained to avoid devolving into something closer to outright bullying. Some lessons are hard, and the ones that involve our creative endeavours are some of the harshest. I learned the hard way, by running the gauntlet of cruel reviews and downright spiteful direct messages in my early days, and I wished very much that I had had someone who could have just told me what I was doing wrong before I ever hit 'publish' and opened myself up to attack.

Equally, there is a kind of power and resilience in receiving harsh criticism and meeting it with renewed motivation and determination, as TS did. That takes a particular kind of internal fortitude that is not often cultivated by young writers when they initially start out, and I respect the hell out of TS for it.

With time and practice, I genuinely feel that TS will be a solid writer. If he can keep on learning from his mistakes, including taking advice and putting in the hard work, I think he has real potential to become a published author of original works in his own right.

So: keep up the good work, TS.

(You're not on tumblr and you will never read this. If you found this anyways, no you fucking didn't. Go read some Tom Clancy and James Clavell like I told you to.)

[manonamora-if]

De Zomer van Vertalingen

Hoi allemaal,

Welcome to my summer project~!

What's that about?

De Zomer van Vertalingen is a summer-long project all about translations (literally The Summer of Translations), during which I intend to release translations of my games - specifically in Dutch.

From June through August, I will be uploading each week either an update of a previously released short game to include the new translation(s*) OR release a new short game that will include a Dutch translation (Neo-Twinies!) OR (and that's if I'm really confident) create a short story starting with Dutch first before translating it in English/French**. *Yes so... there are a couple of games written in French or English only. In that case, it's a double translation: Dutch + French/English (which ever is missing). **because I know Dutch as such little reach compared to those two languages...

What's that for?

My main reason is that I need to improve my Dutch for personal reasons asap, and this was the best way I could think of when it came to writing skills. I get to learn new words, practice my sentence structures, and maybe have some half-decent writing to show off in the future.

Another big one is that... I've been in a big funk since pretty much last summer. I think you've probably all noticed that, aside for a random game or template update, I've been pretty quiet on that front*. It's been a stressful and difficult period, and it's affected my creativity and motivation to write**. None of my usual tricks have been working so far, and this is pretty much my last resort to jump-start it all. *even about Svipul and a mini French parser. It's been out, under the radar. I legit don't remember making those. *or even code... see Harcourt being 6 months late...

A couple of other reasons: I've found some typos and small issues that need to be corrected; I am in the process of archiving games/releasing source codes (related to previous); There're actually really few IF games in Dutch (IFDB/itch.io); A few of my games need a QoL update or two; Hoping to find some inspiration from revisiting older works; Shamelessly doing a little bit of promotion for myself too; And... why not for the fun of it?

What to expect?

As I said above, weekly (re)release of a short game.

Short games (as in under 1000 words), because translating long games seems neverending* and I don't want to quit before I even start; but most importantly MelS is my guinea-pig the kind soul who'll go through that mess and there's only so much I can put him through**... So, that means games like Collision or Dévoiement or Intersigne will definitely appear on the list. *I've done that for Meeting the Parents, DOL-OS and Les lettres du Docteur Jeangille, and I wanted to pull my hair out. **and also I'm asking a lot of his free time...

And new works too. The Neo-Twiny Jam (@neointeractives) and the Nouvim3000 (French) are just around the corner, and I already got a couple of ideas to play with (some planned for previous jams, but never completed). So, I'm hoping for one or two to come out*. *at least one for NTJ, since it's for a good cause.

Maybe (that's that's a big asterisk maybe) I manage the impossible and writing something in Dutch from scratch.

So that will be (hopefully) 13 releases throughout the summer.

As per my planning (because, yes, I've done some), I have about 10-or-so short games which can be easily (heh) translated/fixed. That gives me 3 slots to fit at least the Neo-Twiny and the Nouvim, maybe even the Single Choice Jam.

And then, what?

Back to regular programming, dusting off my WIPs and actually complete them. For real this time. Like actually not putting them off anymore. I even have a Roadmap for it. Probably finishing Exquisite Cadaver first since it's completely mapped out and the smallest.

And then, we'll see :)

[maxdibert]

Re: the ask about Lily being Snape's "attachment figure" and him confusing that for love. Based on the people you work with experiencing similar... how well can people manage to move beyond that with the correct support/therapy/environment/other interventions, and form healthier relationships and have a better quality of life? Like, best case scenario

I'm imagining Sev leaves Hogwarts and Spinner's End, gets some peace and quiet and maybe some therapy(?) - although Sev doesn't seem the type to me to naturally step away from an unhealthy place or engage with any sort of treatment, at least at first, and in any case the wizarding world has a very "get over it" attitude and like 0 awareness of mental health lol (and his next big problem if he survived ofc would probably be being mobbed by fans and haters alike, and Rita Skeeter turning up in his floorboards to write a colourful biography).

BUT in an ideal world, how (and how well) could he perhaps move on from being overly attached to Lily and her memory, and form new, healthier relationships and prioritise himself?

And only if you care to write about it because i know this has gotten long, but how about on the flip side of if he survived, his purpose fulfilled (Harry lived and is safe; his debt to Lily repaid) - and he received no support or new friends/community, how would he cope? Without that goal/focus? Without the structure of Hogwarts? With the tumult of the end of the war, more attention, but no purpose, and probably no job teaching? I've seen a few fics where he turns to drink but I can't really see it myself, and would love to hear your thoughts!! Love seeing that you've posted 💕

It depends on whether it's driven by mere emotional deprivation or part of a clinical diagnosis. For example, having attachment figures is quite common in people with bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder—most of them experience it regularly. It's also the case for those of us who suffer from anxiety or have an anxious attachment style; we tend to have attachment figures as well, but that’s more of a clinical issue.

From what I've learned and what people who work directly to improve people's daily lives (I'm in the legal field, after all) like psychologists or social caregivers have told me, it all depends on the case, the severity, and the person themselves. Generally, younger people have more success with recovery than those in middle age, which makes sense because the younger you are, the more adaptable you are and the easier it is to develop tools and ways to self-manage. The older you get, the harder it becomes, because these behaviors have been established over many years, and it's quite difficult to change them. But for younger people, especially teenagers and those under 30, the prognosis is generally good, especially if the person is intervened, receives good therapy, and is properly supported. BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE, if that person wants it, because no matter how many resources you give someone, if they don't want to make use of them, there's nothing you can do. One of the first things you learn when you work in social services and community work, lolololololol.

Now, it's a bit like what you said. I can't imagine Severus just leaving Spinner's End like that because, personally, I think he never left because it was a self-imposed prison for him when he wasn't at Hogwarts. His penance as a professor was something Dumbledore had given him, but when he wasn't teaching, he had another penance: going back to that house, which was tied to his childhood and all the bad memories. So, I find it hard to picture him leaving easily... but, well, let's pretend we live in La-La Land. If a 21-year-old Severus hadn't gotten stuck in that spiral of suffering and guilt, selling his soul to Dumbledore after already selling it to Voldemort (those daddy issues, my dear Sev, I love you but it's true), and if he'd managed to find some rehabilitation, I think he'd have had a decent prognosis. Being so young, with good therapists and professionals? Sure. Especially because good therapy also involves learning to relate socially and emotionally in a healthy way, but we’re talking about very modern therapy concepts, not the 80s where they just handed out Prozac and antipsychotics for everything, lololol. I don’t think Severus was a lost cause back then. I think circumstances made him a lost cause. And yes, I believe he could have learned to relate to others (maybe not perfectly because, socially awkward to the max), maybe even have friends, and potentially even a partner. Absolutely. But not in the 80s and not in the wizarding world where mental health issues seem less important than in medieval times.

Regarding the AU where Severus survives, that's something I really like and read a lot of (I even wrote an SSxReader with that premise). I honestly think that if he had survived after completing his mission—settling his debt to Lily by ensuring Harry survived, making sure Voldemort was dead, and achieving his goals—he would have fallen into a severe depression. That’s how I portray him, essentially as someone very depressed who doesn't know what to do with a life he never asked for, because he always thought he’d die in the war or be killed at some point, so he never had a plan for survival. And also someone deeply ashamed for Harry knowing everything about his past (imagine surviving knowing Harry Potter knows EVERYTHING about your past—just thinking about it would blow your mind) and at the same time knowing that to some, he’s a hero, to others, he’s a jerk, and to some, he’s a traitor, but the thing is, he’s never indifferent to anyone, and he just wants to be left alone. Without being a professor because he’s always hated kids, but not really knowing what else to do because, well, that's the only thing he's ever done. In general, he’s someone who doesn’t know what to do with his life because he’s never had one, so he doesn’t know how to handle it. That’s my general vision.

[shiftingwithrae]

Hi darling. ( i am not one of your followers, i just randomly came across your account.)

To you, the anonymous person who keeps sending her asks, calling her psychotic. You are not as smart as you think you are. I don't know if you think that you're helping anyone by giving those ' opinions ', or if your goal in life is simply to be condescending while talking to random people on the internet. If that's the case, then congrats, you are successful. But definitely not pertinent, nor helpful. She may be ' psychotic ' in your eyes, but you are the only one here who's pitiful. To have the time and the dedication to keep coming back and forth on her profile, only to keep arguing with her about something that you don't believe in seems pretty desperate for someone who's pretending that she's the desperate one. I don't know your backstory, you may have a reason to be so adamant about this subject, but from an outside perspective i have to say : you're not better than her. If in your eyes she's ridiculous, then i can assure you that in the eyes of everyone reading your asks, you're the one who seems bored and ridiculous. You may want to answer ' oh but i don't care about what freaks and sick people like you think ' and since you seem to love making assumptions about strangers on the internet, then i am going to make one about you : you're not a good person. And by the way you're acting right now, you're just proving that you enjoy being mean / condescending / and that you suffer from a lack of empathy. Which, based on my assumptions, makes you a lowlife. It's time for you to drop social media, and go touch some grass outside to reconnect with humanity and reality. Because it seems like you also need to get a grip, right? You're not better than anyone. And if you were a decent human, you wouldn't post your questions as an anonymous person. At least show your user name when you're harassing someone, don't you think? Or, do you just enjoy seeing her asking you to stop harassing her? If that's the latter, then be reassured, you just proved to yourself that you are indeed a walking piece of shit. Congrats! Oh and by the way, pointing out her grammatical errors doesn't change the fact that your arguments are made of air. You may want to actually make research about the law of assumption, expending consciousness and the structure of reality before opening your mouth on subjects you don't even understand. :)

Stop because that made me so happy thank you because like they kind of stressed me out bro not only that but like I can't even block them bc there anon but it was scary but like thank you for standing up for me I WILL FOREVER BE IN YOUR DEBT!! 😭🤣

IF YOU SEE THIS FOLLOW ME BC I WANNA FOLLOW U TO!!

[vertumnanaturalis]

The Exocolonists of Vertumna (tumblr edition) Part 1: The starborn children of the Stratospheric

Sooo this is something I've been wanting to work on making for awhile, a tumblr text post addon for the big chunky npc list I've had for over a year. There's a lot of data I've accumulated over time that just doesn't fit in a google sheet in a decent way, and so I've been wanting to make some text posts to cover ideas that don't fit in my sheets, or might be an easier read for people who find my documents confusing.

I try to pull from canon as much as possible, and use speculation taken from a long hyperfixation on the concept of generation ships or bunkers and love for sci-fi media about it. The idea behind this list has always been to provide people with both an accessable set of easily usable/chuckable/maimable/fuckable/killable/ect names and ideas to fluff out the background of your own stories and with an illusion of consistancy, and to offer insight into my own headcanons that I've developed, so that people can take any bits and pieces they want and re-examine or reuse or recycle how they want. As always, I'll still try to mark which info is explicitly canon, but theres a lot of blanks to be filled in and my take on how things could be explained is far from the only one.

This one is gonna be an overview of the 54 people born on the Stratospheric and some approximate either in-universe or out-of-universe explanations for why things are structured the way they are. Future ones will cover specific sub-sections of those shipborn Stratos, overviews and department-specific pages about the adults of the Stratospheric, matching pages for people of the Heliopause, the children born during the final two years of the game, and even data for the kids possibly born beyond that.

In the earliest stages of drafting the ships population, the founders had planned to have exactly 100 people on the Stratospheric when it left Earth, primarily composed of their brightest and most promising between ages 10 and 25 (in local Earth years), and that 35 children would be born in five groups of seven during its 21(e)/20 (local Vertumna years) year journey, the maximum they could have fit in that ideal situation. On launch day in reality, the ship left with only 86 out of it's planned 100. Several of their important specialists were intercepted en-route to the launch pad, and a handful of their volunteer teenagers backed out in the final days and hours, while the reserve choices they had on hand were children chosen for their genetic diversity rather than skills or potential, with Utopia being an especially young outlier at just shy of 3(e). Outside of her and their sole member of generation one, Captain Eudicot, the ships population ran from original Chief Administrator Chiffon at 33(e) down to little Jubilation at 6-and-a-half(e). In one of the final documents outlined by the Earth colony's leaders in the hours before liftoff, the plans for the third generation were expanded from 35 to 50, adjusted for the younger leaning launch population and all the changes it entailed.

Similar to the founders original plan, spacer kids were still divided into five age groups (A, B, C, D, and E), with at least a year between the youngest person in one group and the eldest of the next. Half of this was to give the ship's lone acting physician a break period where there were no fresh infants or pregnancies to worry about, and the other half was to give the ship's administration time to carefully plan out the next set of children; How many children would be in this group, who was going to gestate the pregnancies, who their social parents would be (if any), what augments Instance would give them, and, most importantly, keeping an eye on the current genetic and social diversity of the third generation, so that they did not reach a genetic or social bottleneck too quickly (ie incest in a social setting, even if the two individuals are not genetically related). All of the embryos that would become the next group of children were created in the same few month period of time and cryofrozen until they were due to be implanted in the person chosen to gestate them. There were a number of extra rules that the Vertumna Group had written out that ultimately Eudicot and the council decided to abandon to at some point in the trip, all for various reasons, and not all by unanimous vote;

That there would be no need for drastic changes in the current groups' plans once the planning stage was over.

That every pregnancy would only include one fetus, with post-implantation embryo splits being selectively reduced.

None of the children born on the Stratospheric would have any genetic relationship with one another, and parents having more than one child would be discouraged, and that in cases where siblings did occur, either each sibling would only take genes from one parent (in family units with 2+ parents) or only the eldest child would have genetic relation to their parent and any following child would be purely from donated dna (for family units with only one parent).

That, at minimum, a quarter of every group should be set asside to for children with no dedicated family attachments, both to better. adhere to the group's original idea of having no parents, but also to give the young colony a bit more padding against the looming threat of everyone being second or third cousins in only a few generations.

Another rule that, while not completely abandoned, was less and less considered as the years went on was one that mandated how many embryos of each cluster were planned to develop with a genetically likely physiology that could get pregnant, a physiology that could get others pregnant, or anything in the vast array of historically normal and genetech introduced non-reproductive physiologies. This was never intended to determine the gender of the resulting children and any gene therapy they want or require in the future, or guarentee that the embryo would fully develop in the "intended" (solely in regards to their future reproductive capibilities, without further gene therepy involvement) way, but rather an attempt to gamble that at a decent number of the third generation would be able to continue the human species in the event their genetech was lost prematurely. For the original plan with 5 groups of 7, each group was to have a minimum of 3 embryos with an expected physeology that would be able to carry a pregnancy, 3 that could sire a pregnancy, and the 7th wouldn't have any requirements. The 3/3/1 ratio was followed exactly only during the first group, while following groups would only roughly follow this plan. In total, 54 children were born between leaving Earth and arriving at the wormhole; 30 out of them having siblings of some kind, with 10 of those children being born in sets of multiples (with two sets of twins and two sets of triplets) - with only one accidental post-implanation embryotic split resulting in two of those children - with 16 of the children have some genetic relationship with one another (though, with the exception of the identical sisters, none closer than genetic half siblings); and ultimately, only 9 children were explicitly born to be raised in the creche without parentage.

The 54 children of the Stratospheric:

Group A: The oldest spacer kids, they'd be adults at landing by Helio standards but they're still minors by the culture of the Vertumna group, coddled and babied more at landing than Sol when they reach the same age down the road, even if they still have adult jobs and responsabilities.

Cosmozoa "Cosmo" - he/him - 18

Lilium "Lili" - she/her - 18

Sorrel - he/him - 18 - A canon name and job, rest of info is fanmade

Benevolence "Bena" - she/her - 18

Edamame "Ed" - he/him - 17

Malagma "Mal" - they/them - 17

Absinthe "Abby" - any pronouns, feminine formal terms - 16* (17th birthday shortly after New Year day but before landing on Vertumna)

Group B: Kom's age group, with him as the oldest of the bracket, still young enough to be discovering themselves but old enough that the adults are rapidly giving them more responsibilities than their upperclassmen were at the same age. A series of unlikely and specific events led to the existance of the ships first set of multiples, and their existance provides in-universe backstory and reasoning for why some of the following children exist.

Kombucha "Kom" - he/him - 15

Quinine "Quinni" - they/them, later + he/him - 15 - same deal as Sorrel, even being named in the same event

Thicket - Any, masculine familiar terms - 14** (15th birthday after arriving on Vertumna but before Sol wakes up in medbay)

Opulence "Opal" - she/her - 14

Vertex "Tex" he/him - 14

Tempest "Pem" - she/her + They/them - 13* (same as Abby)

Chrysocolla "Chrys" - they/them - 13

Triplets Coriander "Cory" (he/him) , Scallopini "Pina" (she/her) , and Amaretto "Ame" (she/her) - 13 - Pina and Ame are the identical sisters mentioned above, while their fraternal brother Cory is genetically unrelated to them

Falchion "Kion" - he/him - 13

Group C: Sol's age bracket, most of these kids are canon and need no explanation

Arroyo "Ary" - he/him - 11

Aspartame "Tammy" - she/her - 11

Recalcitrance "Cal" - he/him - 11

Simplicity "Plic" - she/her - 11

Peregrine "Penny" - she/her - 10

Evanescence "Evan" - he/him - 10

Philosophy "Sully" - they/them - 10

Marzipan "Marz" - she/her - 10

Solanaceae* "Sol*" - they/them* - 9** name varies by timeline, but all of my documents will refer to our player character as Sol, and primarily but not exclusively with they/them pronouns; their 10th birthday is very notibly after they land on Vertumna shortly into the new year

Anemone "Annie/Nem/Nemmie/[Determined by player choice]" - she/her - 9

Twins Dysthymia "Dys" (he/him) and Tangent "Tang" (she/her) - 9 - in all of my headcanon documents, including this one, I am going with the idea that they are planned fraternal twins with seperate sperm donors; I know the take that they were idetical twins is a common one, but it isn't actually a canon one; nothing in the game actively states this, the idea that they were identical is simply a common and very reasonable take on the information the game gives us, but it was never something I got from playing the game myself. If you're curious about all the exact reasons for this you can send an ask and I'll elaborate.

Group D - The younger kids, like Anemone's triplet brothers, half of them have their holopalms installed but still spend a lot of time in the creche when they land. All but the eldest three are kids Sol and Tammy babysit, and 100% of them are kids Sol can later tutor in school

Hawthorn "Hawth" - they/them - 7

Hyaline "Lin" - any - 7

Sepia - she/her - 7

Triplets Cirrus, Stratus, and Cumulus (all he/him) - 6** (same as Thicket) - we never get their exact age, but they're listed as being 7 years old when the game starts in an only mostly correct game file character sheet, the triplets ended up being technically 6 at the start because of an early whoopsie daisy during early npc documentation

Mistletoe "Misu-Misu" - she/her - 6

Kelvin - he/him - 6

Effervesence - he/him, later + they/them - 5

Vendetta "Detta" - she/her, later + they/them - 5

Necterine "Nena" - she/her - 5

Group E - The youngest of the generation, all toddlers and babies on arrival, space born in technicality, but children of Vertumna in every other way. The largest of the groups with 13 children included, and the group with the most imaginative and most untested augments.

Nougat - she/her - 3

Nimbus - he/him - 3 - similar to the cloud triplets, we never get his age beyond that he's "little Nimbus", but he's old enough to be in school when Sol first unlocks the tutoring job so I put him at Nougat's age

Panache "Pan" - he/him - 2

Maraschino "Chino" - he/him & she/her - 2 -while Chino does appear in game with only the he/him pronouns used, "Marachino "Chino" with the pronouns he/him"'s age is never directly given in-game, a "Marachino "Mara" with the pronouns she/her" and an age of 2 is listed in the same file that gives the cloud triplet's their approximate age and listed as a child encountered during babysitting, so I went with a middle ground of having this character use both pronouns and later both nicknames

Tessera "Tess" - she/her - 2

Macaroni "Mac" - she/her & he/him - 1 - the child with the no pain augment is refered to with he/him pronouns in-game, but I went with a similar deal to Chino for variety

Contrivance "Connie" - he/him - 1 - the child with the shark teeth augment is also refered to with he/him pronouns

Ketamine "Ket" - they/them - 1

Maxilla "Max" - he/him - 0

Twins Whimsy and Praline (both she/her) - 0 - while one of Dys's late game/high skill events has him talking about how at one point he and Tangent were "The Twins" prior to their relationship crumbling apart, I thought it would be narratively fitting to have a younger set of twins being planned/conceived/born at the same time as their relationship falls apart as Tangent gets further into genetics (where said twins were being made), making him and Tang lose their status as being "The Twins" in multiple ways

Benzodiazepine "Benji" - he/him - 0

Enigma "Ena" - she/her - 0 - the youngest child from the Strato's third gen and last one to be born in space is refered to with she/her pronouns as a baby, opted to keep those pronouns as she grows older

In total, the shipborn children and teenagers account for roughly 40% of it's landing population (39.7% when arriving at the wormhole, and 42.2% after the canonly unavoidable loss of life during it's landing). This number combined with the chaos of living on a new planet and the very likely scenario of the ship's brown dirt being lost would be a good starting explanation for some of the glaring failures in child wellfair and safety during the 10 years we see during the game, but definately not an excuse. The next post is going to be either a quick overlook of the gen 2 Strato characters or a more detailed post for one of the specific gen 3 groups, detailing things like birthdays and augments, with posts detailing the adult npcs and all the Helios and planetborn children coming later.

Also, as there was no decent way to include this higher up the list, here are the sibling sets discussed earlier;

Sorrel, Thicket, and Misu [only Sorrel shares any dna with their mother, Thicket and Misu are both entirely from donor dna]

Kom, Anemone, Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus, and Nimbus [Kom and Anemone are genetic half siblings with 50% of their genes from Anne, while the following boys only have between 15 and 35% coming from Anne, with the rest from multiple donors]

Opal and Ves [Opal only shares her mother's dna, while Ves only shares his father's]

Tex and Ary [only Tex has his father's dna, with Arroyo's embryo coming from Earth]

Cory, Pina, and Ame [None of the trio have their mother's dna, and the embryo that became Cory shared no dna with the embryo that split into Pina and Ame]

Kion, Penny, and Sepia [One of the three is only genetically related to one of their two parents, another is only genetically related to the second parent, and the third is entirely from donor dna or an Earth embryo, but only Instance knows which of the three is which, as all three were created (or selected) at the same time for this exact scenario]

Sully and Ket [occupy a unique space as sorta step-siblings, as they both have single parents who begin a romantic relationship after landing]

Dys and Tang [explained above]

Kelvin and Pan [occupy another unique space as social half-siblings, with Kelvin being born to a single father who entered a relationship after he was born, but his father's partner is very explicitly not his mom genetically or socially]

Detta and Connie [a similar deal to Opal and Ves, but I haven't mapped out which parent is which yet]

Nena and Chino [genetic half siblings, with both taking dna from their mother and Nena taking dna from one of their fathers and Chino taking it from the other]

Whimsy and Praline [they don't share any genetic material with one another or their mom, and an in-universe rumored reason for it is that their mom had been the egg donor for one of the older children]

Also, the creche children who were born at the behest of the colony without any specific designated parents in mind

Bena

Mal

Chrys

Plic

Hawth

Lin

Nougat

Tess

Max

Side note: Canonically, Anemone's brother Kom is the oldest shipborn child we see, and while I believe Lindsay intended for Kom to be the oldest member of gen 3 after Utopia, this is never actually stated in the game, and I was surprised to see that it was the intent as it never came across to me that way during my initial playthroughs. Nothing in here explicitly ignores or goes against anything said or mentioned in the game proper, but I know that having any of the kids be older than Kom is probably the not the most canon way to construct the generations layout. One of the canonly used names in the game, "Sorrel", has been given to one of these teens, but there is neither anything for or against Sorrel being this age, as the only information we get beyond a name is a manner of death and a place of work.

[yandereunsolved]

could definitely see liquid falling for a foxhound soilder he has to train, dosent have to nessicarily be gnome soilder, after all, he thinks big bosses destiny constrains him to he a certain way, a certain fate, if you look at the way he dresses its just like big boss does in mgs4. Which is a choice. In mgsv he has his own militia revolting against the "government" (adults), and is his goal is to surpass him by basically being a worse war criminal. So he could see him acting similar, using cqc to get close, using his status as a commander to get sway them, ect

Liquid using a power imbalance to manipulate his darling into loving him? He would so totally do that.

I imagine the FOXHOUND soldier is decently trained with a lot of potential. It's that potential that interests him. He realizes he is going to have to 'waste' valuable time training them. He doesn't quite mind.

He begins to see this soldier under him as someone who can aid him in his destiny. (Liquid is heavily into breeding. Let's just be so for real with ourselves.) So he begins fantasizing about their genetics and what their DNA looks like. He wonders how well theirs would pair with his. So, naturally, he has Psycho Mantis get close to you. You two train together and Mantis usually stays in your general vicinity.

It can be a bit unnerving. You're never really briefed on why he does so. Mantis just... does.

And it gives Liquid incredibly valuable information. So he continues to fantasize about what your shared offspring would look like. How he could mould them into becoming something greater than Big Boss ever was. Because if he is simply constrained to his fate―to always try to surpass but only meet the cusp, then adding in more strong genetics would surely cause his legacy to outlive and be more famous than BB.

He gets into the habit of watching you, touching you in ways a commander shouldn't. It is mostly as he says it is. To 'assess you'. But he can't deny that he's attracted to you. He sees you as a prize. You are something he must obtain. So he has to learn every part of you. Right down to not just your cells, but your atomic structure.

Your uniform differs from the others. They all seemingly get more say in theirs. Yours looks―oddly similar to Liquid's, yet different. He dresses you up like Big Boss. His own personal doll. It's also a possession thing.

Like yandere BB he isolates his darling from the other soldiers, except for Psycho Mantis. And uses the others as informants. Liquid is very demanding. And the others pick up on his little crush, but Mantis erases any wants to verbalize or fully realize its extent.

[jingerpi]

Its honestly very concerning how popular ContraPoints video on "Transtrenders" was. I want to make a post discecting it briefly because I feel the video does a disservice to young trans folk looking to learn, instead leaving them feeling unjustified in their indentitiy under the guise of some radical acceptance One of the main issues with the video as a whole is how natalie breaks down existing understandings of trans medicine as a tool to try and unseat transmedicalist talking points, and show how being trans is about personal experience and "feelings". While its important to critique transmedicalists, what she does here is undermine what many people see as the best justification for trans existence without replacing it with anything. She does this in my opinion, because she honestly doesn't have anything to replace it with, and doesn't understand the real basis for gender in the world. Saying this is all well and good, I can critique anyone for not giving good basis for thing but its no help if i don't give anything of substance to back it up either, so heres a brief explanation of why transphobia is a problem, based in actual socio-political analysis.

Patriarchy is an economic structure which has been built up across centuries of accumulated surplus value which was passed down through the eldest son of the ruling class. this is a vast over simplification, but functionally this means there are systems in place in society which privilege men, give them access to more wealth, better positions, and control over non-men. Patriarchy has grown and changed over time and held different shapes depending on the society, we no longer have eldest sons inheriting royal rule (in most places), but we continue to have men as the group with the most economic and social agency in our societies. This privilege that Patriarchs have is constituted not of some magical benefits bestowed upon them from an abstract "system" but are instead taken directly from those who are not men. More specifically, men and Patriarchs take labor and resources from those whom patriarchy considers "non-men". Reproductive labor goes unpaid, women are under privileged in political society, we often don't get choices over our bodies. This isn't merely a coincidence, but serves specifically to give men power and confer more benefits onto them. Because of this, there must be systems in place to manage who is let into the patriarchy, who can be a Patriarch.

The most universal way of doing this is by deciding whether or not someone is a man and conferring onto them certain benefits as long as they uphold this structure, and ostracizing them if they are not. They do this ostracization because if this structure is not upheld artificially through oppression of women and bullying of nonconforming men to keep the categories of man and woman or even man and non-man distinct, the privilege given to the in-group starts to fade. In the same way that "White" is an artificial construct created and upheld to facilitate racism like slavery, imperialism, housing discrimination, and unpaid labor, so too is "manhood" and "womanhood". These constructs appear to be based in existing biology, so they often go without question, but race is also based on such "biology" and that does not mean its a founded construct. The basis for both "race" and "gender" break down once you look at higher level understandings of these concepts. Not all people with xy chromosomes are men, not all people of African decent have black skin, etc etc... I could go on about the "exceptions" for quite some time but you likely know many of them already. These are categories created fundamentally to give one specific category an economic advantage and justify their oppression of those who are outside of said category. The reason we need to respect trans-ness isn't because there is something inherently justified about being transgender, nor because we just have to be really nice to everyone and treat their feelings as absolute truths. Its because the systems which confine us and define gender so rigidly exist purely to oppress and extract value from others. These borders are deeply unjustified and we need to tear them away. We do not need to justify existing outside of the borders, but instead challenge the borders in the first place. Contrapoints fails to meaningfully do this Natalie focuses almost entirely on the arguments surrounding justifications for transness and gives little thought to the justifications for patriarchy. It is treated as a default, always existing, status quo that is unquestionable. It makes me wonder how aware of it she really is, she seems to get stuck in justifying her own existence. the "Transtrenders" video focuses on a discussion between several characters where the primary issue at hand is how to justify being trans, should it be done through medicial, scientific frameworks? or should it be done from a kind and accepting view of others? She makes arguments against the former for being flawed and the latter for being unfounded, but she never actually replaces it with any critique of society, instead saying: "Okay, so what am I supposed to tell Jackie Jackson then? What am I supposed to tell the TERFs? That I'm a woman because reasons?"

"No, not even because reasons. Just because you are."

"So it's what, a leap of faith? Oh great. I'm sure that's gonna convince all the rational skeptics. Justine, it makes us sound completely delusional."

"Well Tiffany, delusion is what separates us from the animals." Which is an extremely unhelpful answer to give after tearing down what is to many, a key aspect in their reasoning for why they are justified in their identities, and while it is partially correct that trying to use one of the specific theories she outlined earlier to justify trans existence is an exercise in futility, she can't seemingly offer any alternative than some kind of "because I said so" when there ARE very good reasons to be in favor of trans acceptance, and historical reasons for our existence. In failing to do so she misleads perhaps an entire generation of trans people into thinking theres no real justification for their existence

The justification comes from understanding that the premise is false, that the forces which try to bind people to a specific societal gender role are themselves the issue.

She tries to point out that we dont need to justify transgender existence because the frameworks which hold us to cisgender existence are the real problem, but without ever talking about these cisgender standards in an actually meaningful way, instead talking abstactly about societies "expectations" or whatnot, where she should could be attacking the real economic forces of patriarchy. She should be tearing down patriarchy first and then using that to liberate trans existence but instead she tears down trans existence without touching patriarchy or any of the coercion or exploitation that arise from it. I consider this a great tragedy, and a prime example of her failures as an educator.

[jenyifer]

I’ve read 10 more books let’s get a rec list here for future use for people to look up on my page or alone.

Disclaimer:I think reviews and opinions show a lot about who you are and your life exp so. I am a woman lover who is 30 with ADHD. I am cisgendered she/her. I like listening to books on my drive in and out of work. I’ve read and watched a lot of scifi and fantasy and these books reflect that too.

In order of most loved:

1. Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈⏳ Historical Romance. this beautifully crafted novel moved me to tears. Set in a historical, mundane world, it captures the essence of the original while offering a fresh perspective.

2. Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh 👯‍♀️🏳️‍🌈👽🚀now MC Romance very very low I like to think she’s a little bit some where in the ace spectrum but 🥹🥹 Avicenna gives you enough gay vibes trust me. It is a real journey. MC is broken out of her brainwashing and tries to save the Earth and Universe. It’s high Sci-fi fun. I really loved it.

3. The Last Binding Trilogy by Freya Marske 🏳️‍🌈👯‍♀️🏳️‍🌈🪄⏳🔎 Alright each book is from a different intertwined couple’s POV. Each book is very much historical wizard mystery’s found family. Each book has steamy interesting spicy scenes. I find this series more impressive now because I still think about the couples and its universe was fun. Side note the last couple is the best.

4. The Tithenai Chronicles by Foz Meadows 🏳️‍🌈⏳🪄🔎 it’s more historical than super magical but both books have decent mysteries. It’s about an arranged royal marriage one comes from a conservative country suffering from trauma which we get to see but is treated respectfully and not harped on and the other is a warrior who is a little neurospicy. So Velasin is so dear to me I forgive a lot because he’s baby and I love him. They have non binary characters and disabled characters in the story being treated like people. There is some very spicy scenes in these two books. The new character in the second book so amazing they reminds me of Tennal from Oceans Echo in spirit anyway. I liked them. But his spicy scenes had me blushing for days. A con of this book is it’s very emotional so depression trauma warnings.

5. Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🦹🦜 I can’t believe I forgot to do a review of this one considering I really enjoyed it. So it’s YA dystopian Latin America folklore kind of like superhero and god goddess. Really heart warming found family coming of age. Also in the vein of hunger games etc. I loved the universe and the structure of the world. Each character was well developed throughout the book. Main character is someone you want to see succeed. I’m so excited for book 2. Lots of neurospicy peeps represented in my opinion.

6. Simon Snow Trilogy by Rainbow Rowell🏳️‍🌈🪄🧛🏻🐲 Also YA feel book one has a lot of Harry Potter jabs but it’s not a direct parody. I also think in book 2 3 they take jabs at diff genres which was fun. The series is very funny has perspective from all the characters. The universe is interesting. Romance is decent. Lovable characters. It isn’t good to think too hard about anything.

7. The Unbroken by CL Clark 👯‍♀️⏳👑🪄 this book would be higher up if I wasn’t iffy on the main couple individually I’d rank both leads pretty high on best characters. It’s a book about colonialism political magic rebellion found family. It’s action packed it’s interesting with a good mystery. A disabled main character and a more male presenting lesbian with is something new. Touraine is going to do what Touraine thinks in her heart while Luca serves with her brain and wallet.

8. So this is ever after by f. t. Lukens 🏳️‍🌈👯‍♀️🪄👑⏳ Does what it says on the tin is YA. Medieval setting with standard fantasy quest group. Very easy read.

9. Out of the Blue by Jason June 🏳️‍🌈🧜🏻‍♂️🎬🎓very YA vibes. Very romance. About a nonbinary mer person on their journey out of the ocean to help a human and a film obsessed gay chubby human on his journey to get over a relationship. I would have this book ranked higher except for the ending and School vibes do kind of make me cringe.

10. Temperature of You and Me by Brain Zepka 🏳️‍🌈🦹🔎 about a boy whose skin is fire and human who works at a dairy queen. Mystery is weak some holes in the plot.Romance very immature. School age kids.

Okay so audible had a sale anddd I got a couple titles on there (if I have to spend a fortune on gas and tolls I’ll spend a small one on the books that keep me sane) and I have 4 Libby audiobooks checked out. I still have a hard time with wlw books. Or too much thinking. It needs to hit a sweet spot for me since I’m usually driving in hard conditions so can’t use the super brain on the story. Anyways any suggestions or recs would be welcomed!!!

[pikagatogirltits]

Magic the Gathering x Marvel Set Speculation: Creature Types

I'm pretty excited for the upcoming Universes Beyond Marvel set. I've already made one post where I just rambled about random bits of speculation I had about the set, but I've still been rotating some ideas in my head and I've decided to do a focused dive on a subject I love to think about: creature types. I'm gonna break this up into three sections to try and give it a little structure but it'll probably be a bit rambly within each section. The first two sections (Species/Races and Classes) will focus more on broad strokes that take into consideration both legendary and nonlegendary creatures...I'm not going to try and guess every possible type random legends might have. The third section will be more for me to speculate on specific characters that I think might have especially interesting types. I'll repeat some of my thoughts on creature types from my other post here too so they're all in one place.

Species/Races

Existing creature types I expect to see the most of are Human (obviously), Mutant, Alien, and Robot...

I don't really think any of the various species of aliens really need their own creature type... they can all happily chill under the Alien umbrella

For IP reasons I expect Mutant to solely be used for characters with the X-gene...a lot of other characters that are "mutates" by Marvel terminology will probably just be typed as Human, with a few other exceptions...

Honestly, I think the Marvel sets might only need to make two IP specific creature types: Inhuman and some kind of catch-all for all the various gamma mutates (Hulk and related characters)

The Inhumans are enough their own thing within the context of Marvel that I don't think they really fit in with any existing creature type

Hulk and the other gamma mutates (She-Hulk, Red Hulk, Abomination, etc.) also don't cleanly fit into an existing type...kind of. In a vacuum, I would probably use Mutant for them...but like I said earlier, Mutant is probably going to be reserved for X-gene related characters. I don't really have a super solid idea of what to use though. You might be able to get away with just using Hulk as the creature type, as a lot of these characters have Hulk in their name, but I don't know if it's actually the best choice.

You could maybe introduce a Mutate creature type to handle the Hulks and certain other characters, but I feel like there would be a legitimate concern over its similarity to Mutant, especially in a set where I think there's a decent chance of Mutant typal being a theme.

There's one other IP specific type I could see them making: Asgardian. Personally I think it's unnecessary, Thor and related characters could just as easily be given the God type instead of making a new one, but that might depend on what Marvel wants.

Speaking of the more magical/supernatural side of Marvel, while I don't expect to see them in as high of a quantity as the four I mentioned at the top it should be noted that we could possibly see a non-zero number of Vampire, Elf, Dwarf, Troll, Giant, Demon and/or Devil, and Spirit creatures.

Oh, and between the Savage Lands and also characters like Sauron, Old Lace and Devil Dinosaur I think there's a good chance we can expect at least a few Dinosaurs

Classes

Now I've seen some speculation on the idea of using Hero and Villain as class types in this set but personally I really hope they don't. First, it will reduce that backwards compatibility of the set, which is something WotC thinks about with the popularity of eternal formats. Captain America will interact with more cards as a Human Soldier than as a Human Hero. Second it just looks monotonous, especially in conjunction with how many Humans we'll be getting. What's a better set of creature types for Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye: Human Soldier, Human Rogue, Human Archer or Human Hero, Human Hero, Human Hero?

So setting aside the types I don't think we'll see, how about the ones I think are likely? I think some types we could see multiple of are Soldier, Warrior, Rogue, Scientist, Detective, Assassin...and maybe Ninja, Pilot, and Wizard and Warlock as well.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Citizen make a comeback just so we can get cards that represent civilian characters without just typing them as Human... although I could see Advisor getting some use here too for characters who are lawyers, journalists, or politicians.

Specific Character Speculations

A slight aside at the beginning of this section: if there is a set that really could benefit from finding some way to make the Legendary supertype not eat up so much space on the typeline, it's this set

Also, me listing a character here doesn't mean I think they're 100% certain to get a card, I'm kind of just idly speculating about characters that could have some unusual types.

Rocket Raccoon: I've heard a couple of different stories of Rocket's origin but apparently the (current) comic canon is that he's an earth raccoon that was abducted and genetically enhanced by aliens so I think Raccoon Rogue would be a good fit

Groot: I could see them using Treefolk, Alien Treefolk, or Alien Plant for Groot. Small aside, but I really hope there's at least one card with the flavor text "I am Groot."

Blade: Warrior is a likely choice for a class type, but the real question is how they'll represent him being a dhampir. Human Vampire seems like an obvious pick but Legendary Creature - Human Vampire Warrior is probably going to really push the character limits of the type line. Depending on what aspects of him they want to emphasize I could easily see them dropping his class type if they really want to emphasize his dhampir nature and just type him as Human Vampire...but if they don't want to skip a class type they could decide that Vampire Warrior works and just not bother differentiating him from full vampires.

Ghost Rider: Is Ghost Rider fully skeletal? I could easily see Skeleton Pilot or Skeleton Warrior depending on if they want to emphasize him as a motorcycle rider or a badass fighter...maybe even Skeleton Rogue

The Thing: How non-human do you have to look before you stop counting as Human for creature type reasons? According to the Marvel wiki he's considered a human mutate so technically he could still be a Human... but I could just as easily see them making him an Elemental just to add some variety to the creature types in the set. As for a class you could get clever and make him a Pilot because that's what he originally was, but I don't really see a The Thing card caring about Vehicles so I think Warrior is the best call.

The Lizard: The best possible creature type for him would possibly be Human Lizard Scientist but that might have space issues...but honestly Lizard Scientist is novel enough I wouldn't complain.

Venom/Carnage/other symbiotes: This is less a speculation about their creature type (Alien would probably suffice) but a different typing adjacent question... I wonder if we could justify making them Enchantment Creatures with Bestow to represent other characters wearing them.

Namor: Oh dang, I forgot Marvel had Atlanteans. If we wanted to maximize backwards compatibility I could try and argue we could lump them under Merfolk... but honestly they could also make Atlantean its own type and future proof themselves for other IP that feature inhabitants of Atlantis that are a separate species from humans (like a Universes Beyond: DC for example.) Oh, and Noble would be his class.

You know, I could go on and on trying to guess random characters' creature types so I'm gonna cut myself off here. Maybe one of these days if I get sufficiently bored I'll add onto this post. If anyone else has some ideas for fun Marvel creature types or wants to debate my ideas don't be afraid to add on a reblog or comment. I'd love to talk about this kind of stuff.

[fixyourwritinghabits]

I am trying to write a story where a dog is a prominent part of the main character’s life (a guide dog). I am struggling to write the relationship between the character and his dog, as well as how to write about a dog in general. Do you have any suggestions?

Phew, okay, you've asked a very cat person about dogs, so there's not much I can offer you, but I'll give it a shot.

Breed matters. Different dog breeds were bred for specific jobs, and no matter how little their current lives have to do with that job, the traits remain. Herding breeds will try to herd everything from cats to small children. Small hunting dogs were bred to dig prey out from holes and will continue to dig when they can. Small, yappy dogs were often guard dogs, which is why every little thing will set them off. Even mixed dogs will retain such behaviors, so your first step is to figure out what kind of dog you want. Guide dogs are often labradors, retrievers, and german shepherds, but those aren't your only options, and you can always mix things up by going for an unconventional breed.

Personality matters. Dogs may display traits based on their breed, and you'll find a lot of generalizing about how each breed behaves, but most pet owners will tell you dogs have their own unique personalities. Your dog character is going to have their own quirks, from favorite food to toys to how they play, react to new people, and signal that they want something. Think about how the dog not only interacts with the main character, but also their environment and the people around them.

Training matters. Guide dogs go through very specific and careful training depending on what job they're being tasked with. Not all dogs, no matter the breed, are suited to be guide dogs, and the training process is structured to ensure if they're entrusting the dog with a person's safety, they can do the job. Researching what kind of training your dog would go through and what reward system they rely on will be important.

How your character interacts with the dog is also something worth exploring. If you don't have any experiences with owning a dog yourself, reach out to people who do. See if you can volunteer at a shelter and pick the brains of the people there. You can find a dog park to do some dog-watching (like bird-watching!), or you can see if you can tag along with a friend when they take their dog for a walk.

The best way to figure out how dog/human relationships work is to spend some time around dogs and their humans. If your opportunities are limited, you can also reach out to collect stories from people. How would they describe their dog? What kind of interactions do they have? What weird things do they do?

When you have a decent amount of material, give yourself permission to write the story even if you don't think you'll get it right. You can always seek feedback and fix things in the future.

[seafoamreadings]

whats a best way to tell if a reading likely has some not so great undertones for instance i might end up searching about a card meaning and it seems positive at first but if paired with a less than positive card im guessing its going to be a less than positive reading?

for instance i asked my question how did someone feel about a certain time in their earlier life and i got the empress so i thought well thats quite a positive start to the reading, then i pulled 6 of wands which seems a little on the sexual side? 5 of swords reversed :c then lastly i pulled the 7 of wands upright. the persons situation im reading on i ask questions about them in a reasonable neutral manner but just feel theres something off about it, them or their situation and experience. ive read on them before and theyve given me the utmost negative readings like sometimes theres zero positive things i can think of or interpret from the cards they give me.

same with a different person who i expected to be somewhat decent but they surprised me especially with the devil card that even other readers have got on the same person. tarot seems scarily accurate too like even the nitty gritty situations even tho i dont know this person that im reading on. do u think the cards i pulled are more positive or negative or in between? thanks v much in advance im still new to tarot reading but it awfully fascinating.

do i have to go with the og meanings of the card or can i say well this card feels like its such and such a feeling... or vibe idek where to begin really ive tried and failed to memorise them but its rather difficult as theres a lot more than i realise to it. ive memorised the different suitors like cups, wands and so on but even so it feels like the individual cards hasnt sunk in my mind yet so i keep having to re remind myself what it actually means or can i make up my own meaning for the card?

ok first i have to tell you......... this comes with practice. experiment with different things in your readings and see what you think.

i will tell you about my experience here. cards like the empress are rarely going to pop up as negative things. maybe sometimes. you can look at it like they bring some positivity to an otherwise negative scenario. the devil for another example CAN be quite negative (compulsions, servitude, being bound to something unhealthy, etc) but can also be positive (if you ignore a certain type of christian influence at least) in the sense that it can mean pleasure, enjoyment of material things and physical form, etc.

you *do not!!!!!!* have to go with the OG meanings of the cards. i would posit there are no OG meanings of the cards even. the golden dawn and crowley had a lot of influence on RWS-based and thoth-based decks. but if you're not a member of the golden dawn or a thelemite, you're not bound to their rules, imo. especially if you are not using *THE* RWS or thoth deck. often creators of more recent decks include booklets with their thoughts for their specific designs. but also there even older decks than RWS or thoth - the visconti-sforza, sola busca, and marseilles, all of which also have fairly distinct interpretations intended in their design.

but i don't think you even need to bother changing the meaning deck by deck. some days, certain symbols will jump out at you more than others. some days you draw the fool and you focus on the word fool and the meaning of being a fool. other times that little dog following him around catches your eye more strongly. that enables you to read intuitively to whatever degree you like.

for a beginner i recommend handling it this way: do learn the "OG" meanings. learn the meanings the artist intended. learn the meanings of the classic decks especially RWS. but it is worth learning all of the old ones i mentioned. this gives you a basic, skeletal structure of symbols to draw from as you grow as a reader. at the same time as you are doing this, be careful to avoid rote memorization or reciting cookbook meanings as you pull cards. look at symbols. feel what reaction happens in your body when you see it. when you feel more comfortable start learning new decks, like if you started with RWS pick up a TdM or a thoth deck for a while.

read a lot. read anything you can about tarot. books, websites, forums, etc.

and also read in the sense of at least draw one card every day while you are learning to get practice and make connections at the end of the day so you can really get the vibes and spend time with the voice of your cards.

so for me at this point i have been reading cards for, i don't know, at least 15 years maybe longer? even if i pick up the plain old faithful RWS deck, which was my first deck, a thoth meaning might occur to me and i don't brush that aside. i assume my brain recalled that for a good reason.

i hope that helps and thank you for the tarot question! i love astrology questions but i rarely get tarot ones :) :)

[doonarose]

Fuck me that was an emotionally destructive work week. But it's 3.30 on Friday and I have little to do this weekend beyond chores and napping, and I am almost, almost, almost there. I will definitely be having wine tonight. I might also get cheap chinese on the way home and be asleep by 8pm.

Student that hasn't spoken to me for six weeks did not pass her milestone meeting. Other academics seemed to genuinely feel bad as they voiced their concerns to me about her presentation and overall understanding which I appreciated but also... I really want to explain to them that that's not because I failed to give her this guidance, it's because she's refused to talk to me for six weeks. So that was fine. She was then grilled in the closed door meeting after withe other supervisor and chair and I was properly forceful with some 'I am right, what I say goes' stuff which I've never been before, but this is stuff we have been over again and again and again, for over a year, and when it's something like how to structure a thesis, my opinion (plus her co-supervisor's and panel chair's and any other decent academic she chooses to speak to) outweighs hers. I know what I'm fucking doing. She also got proper push back about not having enough guidance. There are so many things she's been asked to do which she could have tried in a couple of hours, with no risk beyond failure and she has just stubbornly refused to do a single one. This isn't an exaggeration, of the hundred experiments I've asked her to go and try, she has not tried one. So she's going to end up put at risk of flunking out, given a performance plan, and then we will see. All because she decided a bit of criticism made me cruel and scary and mean... I mean honestly, the stuff she told our department head earlier this week made her look like an absolute child. She doesn't like that there's so much track changes and comments on her writing. Department head asked if those changes and comments improved the writing? were written in such a way that she could learn from them? were written in a professional way that was not rude or personal? All of which led to the revelation: Oh, so you just don't like constructive criticism? ME NEITHER. But it is not a valid reason to stop talking to the person giving it.

So she needs to deal with a close-watched performance review, basically, but she also needs to get over herself, apologise, and start engaging with me again. If she cannot figure that out, she's going to be dropped from the program.

I have just spent so many weeks really thinking I was this massive asshole boss and I'm not.

But then... My right hand man who officially finished up last Friday dropped in today because I gave him an extra week with the work laptop while he moved to his new job and place. We are friends, we still get on, this played out as best it could. Great. My fucking fourth year student, who has been leaching off him for eight months, refuses to listen to my repeated instruction to stop asking this ex-postdoc for help. Don't message him, email him, call him, nothing. He is not being paid to help you and he should not feel obliged to help you out of the goodness of his heart. He's here because I did him a favor and we have known each other for over six years and have a personal relationship which means we can chat. This student walks into my office to tell me they stalked him as he was leaving, chased him down, because he has a file they need.

Okay... why didn't they get the file off him back when he still worked here? Like is it university work product because obviously he needs to leave all that here, or at least copies. Maybe it's not a file... maybe it's some code... maybe it's a macro.... unclear. But basically, he made a program work for her, she has no idea how he did it, and now she's changed the program and it's stopped working. Even if she had the file she has no idea what to do with it because she has not learned enough about the code to run it by herself. That's on her. has she worked with IT? Yes, she's spent weeks trying to get them to help but they say they can't. Okay, forward me those emails... oh they were just phone calls. Okay. Wait, there's two other computers it was working on, could she use one of those? Yes... but those aren't the computers she likes (care factor) and she'd have to....

Anyway. She's a little shit is my point. My department head phoned me and now it's 5.16pm and I'm still here so fuck that I'm going home to my wine.

[pinksilvace]

I really gotta know honest question, why do you like Cars 2 so much? I thought the B plot was kinda interesting but I didn't like Mater, which is rough when he's the main character of the movie

OOOOH OH MAN I'm going to try to make this succinct because there's SO MUCH I could talk about here and I don't want to spend three hours writing this post so here goes.

(EDIT: it wasn't three hours but it's still long)

As an important bit of context, you should know that there was a collection of months last year during which my friends and I would get together for lunches on Sundays and spend a solid two hours talking about Cars lore, and so much of it is introduced in Cars 2.

It's also important to note that I've always liked Mater as a character. I think he foils Lightning really beautifully and that their friendship is extremely natural.

Film Structure

The pacing is decent, the dialogue feels in-character, and there is a clear three act structure. I'd seen enough anti-Cars 2 propaganda to think that it was, perhaps, just a bad film I liked, but it's honestly pretty well made.

I like that the main conflict is about Mater and Lightning mending their relationship and the sub-conflict is about terrorism. Others would call that a plot hole. I think it's interesting. There's something to be said about how the personal scope of the Cars films (because all three of them are very focused on POV) reflects how different major events in our lives take on different meanings.

If the movie was about Finn, it would have a different climax; it would fully be a spy movie. Controversial take, but I don't think Cars 2 is a spy movie; it's a movie that happens to have spy antics. At no point, when faced with an alternative, does Mater think about giving up everything he has to live the spy life.

I also really like that the break-up between him and Lightning feels extremely mature. There's no big fight; Lightning yells at him, as he is wont to do (because he's still a developing character in this!!!! wahoo!!!) and Mater's response is essentially to say, "Okay, this isn't working. I'm being a distraction. I'm going to go home, we can both cool down, and I can give you a proper apology there, and in the meantime, I hope you know I really am sorry." Honestly, it's refreshing.

Funny Factor

I laugh an EMBARRASSING amount whenever I watch this movie. There's always something I never noticed before. The landmarks??? The car puns??? The absurdity of it all??? THIS SCENE???

Maybe it's because some parts of this film have such a serious tone, but my god, there are few experiences as wonderful as watching Cars 2 with a group of friends.

Questions raised about the Cars universe

I could not possibly address them all, but here's a selection of my favorites.

The spy cars can't hold weapons; instead, those weapons are built into the cars themselves. Does that make them body mods? Is Finn McMissile a cyborg by our common understanding of that term?

If so, DID MATER RECEIVE NON-CONSENTUAL BODY MODIFICATIONS???

The existence of airplane security screenings as presented implies that 9/11 took place in the Cars universe.

The pope-mobile rides in a pope-mobile...mobile?

We get more hints about what cars were like prior to the invention of cars, and they all just look like old cars, but I must wonder: did they evolve from wagons?

We see Mater & co travel in planes, trains, and via boat, all of which are sentient. In the original Cars, the only transport option we see is trucks like Mack, which run with the same transport logic as the cars. Are the planes relegated only to certain portions of society? Are the trains relegated only to their tracks? Do the boats live with the sort of infrastructure familiar to us (the audience) and the cars, or do they have entirely different cultural systems? Must they always return to the docks? Are there baby boats? Are they smaller? Do they grow up and thus become different models? I'm cutting this one off here because I know from experience that this line of questioning can go on forever

We hear from Finn's associate that Finn saved him from being impounded, thus confirming a new form of death in the Cars universe. One can assume that some cars break down naturally over time, which parallels both real cars and human beings, and Rod Redline is blown up (another recognizable form of death), but what would impounding be? Execution? Euthanasia? Anyway, I'll just leave this here:

Disability

It's really not hard to say that Cars 2 is a film centered around disability in both of its conflicts. This point connects to each of the other sections above in a lot of ways, but again, I think this is a factor that makes the film very interesting from an objective standpoint. It's not a common thing to see.

The main conflict - that between Lightning and Mater - stems from Mater's behavior and how uncomfortable Lightning is with Mater unabashedly being himself. Now, Mater is very autistic-coded. It's especially prominent when you remember he's supposed to be 49 in the first film (54 in Cars 2) and has bonded in a very particular way with each of the cars in Radiator Springs, all of which act as a very strong support network for one another and especially for Mater, who has no conflicts with any of them despite the "eccentricities" that annoy Lightning.

Maybe folks are bothered by the fact that Mater doesn't have an arc in Cars 2 (or at least not a strong one), but that's because conflict 1's arc doesn't belong to Mater. It belongs to Lightning. The whole point is that Mater doesn't have to change for people to like him the way he is, so much so that Finn assumes he's constantly putting on an act by being himself. It's a bit heartbreaking, to be honest. It also flies over a lot of the audiences' heads; I think many people think Mater was made annoying on accident, but I'm not so sure.

The second focus on disability is a lot weirder and raises a LOT more questions and is almost unquestionably negative representation and is STILL FASCINATING to me. Conflict 2, the spy plot, focuses on "lemons" as the bad guys. They're cars that have been pushed aside by society because they're lower-functioning than the rest. Their parts break more often. They can't drive as far. You know.

So, what do these disabled cars do? They band together and decide to start killing the world's greatest athletes AND make a plot to make electric energy look bad because they all happen to be oil barons. Okay! Wild! Not great! Surely, the "underdog elite" theme hasn't been underlying conspiracies for forever, thus adding a hint of antisemitism to the ableism! Cool! Why? (it's because people are used to hating people in these categories and that makes them an easier enemy for the audience. or something. the writers probably just didn't think this through. it's also easy to miss, seeing as they're. y'know. cars.)

In a way, it's good this is the subplot, since the directors could avoid actually addressing this group and the causes of their motivations by making it Finn & co's business and not Mater's. Even so, it's not a route that anybody would have expected this movie to take, and it's even rarer to see disability represented on both sides of a conflict instead of just one. Imagine if Cars 2 had capitalized just slightly more on Mater's friendly connections with lemons. Would a well-thought out plot line surrounding this concept fit the Cars universe? Probably not, since it's established itself to be about racing, but man oh man do I think about it.

TLDR

One can say that Cars 2 is a bad film if they like, but it can never be said that Cars 2 is a bad piece of art, because boy howdy, it sure provides a lot to talk about.

[frankensteined]

31 Days of Dragon Age (Day 14)

Oct 14 - Favorite DA2 romance

answering this one in 2024 yields very different results than i'd have chosen in 2011, back when i was 110% an anders girlie. and don't get me wrong: i love anders, and his romance, a ton. he was my very first DA2 romance and it was such a doozy that it's left an imprint on me to this day. it's also probably the most narratively significant one, in my opinion, but over the years i've shifted my favour over to isabela and her romance more and more.

there's just something about the structure of isabela's romance that sticks with me. of course, it starts off with that time honored "it's just sex!" fling, while the audience chuckles sensibly with the knowledge that they're going to fall for once another harder than fenris' fist through a magister's chest, and that's a beloved trope for a reason. the playfulness between hawke and isabela is such a fun thing to roleplay, especially given how most folks in kirkwall are.

well.

about as fun as folks living in kirkwall can be. the actual romance scene involves that really great "gotta take off all my weapons first -oops, i have one more secret weapon you didn't know about!" trope, too, which

...c'mon now. how do i resist that?

but beyond the no-strings fun stuff, isabela's love manifests in so much character growth for her that it genuinely moved me in a lot of ways. i love how she'll run away to save her own skin, only to come back to help out if you have a strong enough relationship with her regardless of the type, but knowing her personal history makes her return for a romanced hawke that much more significant. her emotions scare her, but the thought of something happening to this person she's come to care for scares her more. she has to do the decent thing because this person has given her reason to believe that she's capable of it.

she hates them and loves them at the same time for bringing out that part of her. she'd have been free as a bird otherwise, but she wants to come to nest instead, because of hawke. she even states that getting her very own ship, which has been something she's wanted since the start of the game, isn't as important as it once was because her feelings for hawke are even greater by that point (years after they'd first met, mind you! it's a slow burn for her, but when she's in, she in.)

isabela comes to be honest with herself through her romance with hawke, finally admitting that "i wasn't afraid of love. i was afraid of being loved", as she decides to fully stop running. she tells tallis that she isn't lacking in purpose anymore because she has hawke, and even after she becomes an admiral in her own right, post-DA2, a romanced hawke will mention that they'll meet up again later, with the utmost certainty. and, should you opt to leave that hawke behind in the fade? instead of the usual "sorry, (love interest)" line they give, hawke will murmur "safe harbors, isabela", using their last words for her to wish her a safe place to dock when she eventually finds land again, with or without them there to meet her.

they have a really beautiful bond, both passionate and playful. devoted, but free, and i've only come to appreciate it more and more over the years.

also, isabela's romanced outfit is easily my favourite one. i mean, just look at her!!!

[penroseparticle]

Penrose Song of the Day Bonus Track: Folded Out by Stolen Jars

Help, I'm experiencing skill gap. If you only read one song of the day read this one, it's just as personal and not as private.

There's a lot of music. A LOT! There's too much music. (There will never be enough). There are so many songs and styles and instruments and conventions and broken expectations and formats and hooks and methods.

Music is probably the largest language I care to learn, after math (Which is just music before we could hear it). So it's frustrating to want to have the language to talk about it without having that language.

This is not a song that I had ever heard of until today. But it is an instant classic. Shoutout to @Telomar, someone I greatly respect the musical tastes of. I'm a bit afraid of it actually, which feels good to admit. A relief to stop holding that insecurity tight to my body.

I don't know anything! I am a fraud, an idiot, a know nothing know it all. I think I know so much about music and I am simply not that smart. I like music but I don't know what I'm doing.

And I know that's not true, I don't know nothing. I played instruments, I can interrogate a text. I'm learning terminology and song structure and what my tastes are (not just things I like, but why I like them). I want to make music one day but I'm scared to start. I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to do everything I want to and this one is the one I'm most scared of. What if I suck. What if I'll never get decent, let alone good. What if the things I have to say are boring or bad or ugly or cruel. What if I've only ever thought I was musically inclined but I'm actually a tone deaf fop.

It's hard to be authentic, because for starters I'm sick of that asshole, and I think he's kind of overhyped, and basic as fuck. But I won't start being authentic by being afraid to be open right. I gotta admit the things I like, the things I don't know, and when I'm only learning. Stop pretending I know what's going on and be ok with saying I don't know what that is, what that means, who that is, what that song is. I instantly look them up, I listen, I give my honest feedback. I'm starting to pick out instrumentation tracks. I'm going to get good. I'm going to be perfectly hyped, and have something interesting to say.

But that starts by admitting my smallness. No one anywhere knows everything about their field, it is actually impossible. No one is expected to. All I can do is do my best at.

What's so intimidating about your tastes @Telomar is that your tastes are specific. I like that I can hear a song that you like and recognize why it's something you like, even if I can't name it yet. I'm starting to recognize genres that I would associate with you. I'm starting to interrogate different aspects of music that I wouldn't have before. I don't know, it makes me stretch in a good way. I want to meet you there, in your music. Maybe I decide I don't like the weather, or that I only want a summer home where you listen. But I want to know the roadmap of how to get there. I want to be able to find you in the ocean of sound, if that makes sense.

So I've been dabbling back and forth through a playlist of faves he has, doing some homework. Listening to music I never knew, music I like, some I don't care for. But none of it bad- I'm appreciating what's there more and more.

I want to know more. I can't sit on my laurels, I can't do nothing. I can't lose focus. If you care about something, you have to put in the effort right? Even if you're tired. You do what you can.

Folded Out has a country guitar sensibility. It has a delicate percussion. It has a clear, intriguing melody line for the guitar. The layering is slow, methodical, and clear. There's a homespun feel to the song. It's a bit of soft, sweet Stomp Clap. It's cute. It gives you that chest feeling. It's good. Good job Stolen Jars. Good job.

Anyways, have a second song of the day because writing the Bare one unclogged something.

You could be dead right now. Go listen to something you love.