#...i also use 'v' for 'very' but i can't currently think of an example where that would actually be confusing

[thesherrinfordfacility]

I’m so torn on whether I want there to be an angsty desperate mid-season kiss before the resolution just to make us scream or drag the tension out til right after the resolution when everything is Finally Settled For Good and rain is falling and Aziraphale can make his apology/confession and it’s slow and tender and deep

(either way, if the Penultimate Kiss isn’t a 360-degree revolving shot I don’t want it, v much convinced that was what Neil wanted to do for the Final Fifteen before he changed his mind)

i genuinely daydream about this (and s3 in general) an ungodly amount (do i just need to pull on my big girl pants and dive into the foray of writing fic??? probably) and try to juggle what would make sense for the narrative and the characters, and make it less about what i want to see from s3 personally ep1 sex scene cold open + '7 days earlier titlecard'

babes i know this is not at all what you asked for (tldr at the bottom) but bugger it im gonna write out where im currently at with the whole 'i would give all my worldly goods for s3 to go something like this'

(and if i ever write fic consider this basically the framework) (and therefore is half serious half bants) (and if nothing else helps keep meta/speculation straight in my head - imagining it all in context):

ep1 cold opens with another BTB flashback but set after the s2 one (aziraphale and crowley arguing about the brewing rebellion for example, aziraphale tries to warn him again etc, no wing lift), and then hard cut to modern day aziraphale, stood in the exact same position but alone, in his new regalia blah blah blah, roll opening theme

so ep1 is likely gonna be a fair bit of exposition of the second coming, right? maybe there's a timeskip? either way we get glimpses into their existences in the After. im undecided whether crowley would remain in london, or specifically the bookshop? (i think he would, because there's opportunity for a mirror of the 'he saved my books' moment - ie. not let muriel sell a single one - which im sure you can imagine could be Delicious later on), but in any case i think crowley - given that he's keeping tabs on tadfield etc in s2 - would start noticing that maybe the world isn't quite right, Loads of people have started going missing (also dropped as clues in s2), natural disasters etc. Hmm This Is Strange

meanwhile, we get a bit of insight into aziraphale's daily headache in heaven, until they finally get the fax from 'god' about the plane carrying the big JC (and, look, Whoever it is that gets off the plane, whatever theory you subscribe to, let's say hypothetically it's absolutely not jezzy c and aziraphale knows it... warlock? idk). aziraphale realises it's all gone A Bit Wrong, ah shit gonna need to talk to crowley.... rolls credits

(plus im sure there will be new characters plus possible reintroductions of previous ones etc etc that will need screentime)

so they don't interact at all until ep2, not until maybe like 10 mins in - muriel calls mr crowley, he gets to the bookshop and walks in

aziraphale waiting in there, casual as you like with a dainty cupperty (wrong, he's shitting himself), and there's the awkward moment of 'oh when we were last here alone you snogged the living daylights out of me', but they're very much Not Talking (About It)

aziraphale explains what's going on, it's all going wrong, They Can't Find Josh, crowley probably gets a bit shitty with a bit of 'i told you so', aziraphale gets pissed off too because 'he's kinda got a point', but regardless please help

i think crowley would initially refuse - why would he want to be involved at all??? in ending humanity once and for all??? - and would probably leave after a bit of a wessex-flashback-callback of 'we're not having this conversation'/'fine'/'fine!'

idk maybe aziraphale would go back to heaven and start to reeeeeally panic, because the guy they've got in heaven is definitely Not The Messiah, and aziraphale needs to find Him before shit really hitteth the fan, but he needs someone on earth to help him (sigh better go back and ask crowley again)

crowley meanwhile takes this information and possibly works out that actually lol turns out the second coming came a bit early, and yeah probably do need to find him before the world starts going completely to shit - aziraphale comes back and crowley agrees this time (✨a new Arrangement✨) (OH 'THE ARRANGEMENT' WOULD BE SUCH A GOOD EP TITLE)

but it's like. The Arrangement if it was truly all Just Business - they're Not Friends etc

maybe crowley going back to hell in reconnaissance mode would feature here? deploys the beloved tactical turtleneck again? ends up claiming the grand duke position or something? or has been grand duke all along? idk

now i would LOVE another long cold open of flashbacks, but idk if that's gonna happen, probably not. but possibly ep3 is them strategising, sharing intel, Still Not Talking, trying to put the pieces together (i still convinced that warlock/greasy johnson are gonna fit in here somewhere so like. return to tadfield? ripe opportunity to bring back The Them, Anathema/Newt etc)

REVERSE WALL SLAM and maybe a little bit of a spat where some of the anger from the final fifteen is let loose or something - but nothing resolved

probably some more shenanigans of shit going down in heaven, with Cheesus running rampant - angels starting to wonder wtf is going on (and god still has her out of office email on)

maybe the end of ep3 is that they work out what's happening - who JC is, where he is, why the second coming has already started, idk but like major plot pieces start slotting together

so ep4 is where it starts getting hazy but like. i feel that this is gonna be roundabout the time where aziraphale and crowley are in the bookshop researching like mad, trying to piece stuff together, come up with Plans, and maybe crowley goes looking in aziraphale's desk, and unearths the Photo - CUE 1941 FINAL FLASHBACK

and then we return maybe to present day? and this is where they finally get out all the shit that has been building up over the centuries, and culminated in the final fifteen - all the times they've upset the other, lied to the other, etc

tender bit towards the end of this - i need a "my dear" or even BETTER a "darling" thrown in here somewhere

however. i don't think there will be a kiss. a lot of shouting, crying, and maybe yeah stuff coming to some kind of tentative resolution/understanding, but not a kiss. idk i just don't think they'd be ready for it - they might come close to it, like i suspect happened in 41, but they both just honestly say they're not ready but that they meant what they said and that their One Day is coming, they're not done, they're not over 🥹🥹

nownownow hmmmm - end of ep4? angels/demons both come for them; shit's going on in the background, they've twigged this time they're Up To Something, and this time the bookshop isn't protected as it should be - get their arses hauled up to heaven. and major thing? metatron/crowley showdown - not a physical one but a...... 'oh didn't he tell you, aziraphale?'

EP5 LONG ASS COLD OPEN OF THE WAR AND THE FALL

book of life explanation in here somewhere idk

and then yeah maybe a bit of a pinnacle moment for aziraphale of choosing crowley after whatever is revealed from the fall? because he's keeping his promise dammit and he's choosing their side, always their side

firefight out of heaven (if aziraphale falls in the process im gonna throw hands but also. mmmm whump material) and maybe then the 360 kiss? bc you're so right and i totally agree - im glad they didn't do it for s2, but i do think it was initially intended and I Need It

someone gets injured probably but they all flee down to the bookshop and start preparing for whatever is about to come - heaven and hell vs. them/humanity etc. plus the dream sequence of the bookshop will never leave my mind Ever

idk if they'd stay there tho, maybe get back out to tadfield. further heart to heart probably after the whole fall, all cards on the table, 'is there still an us'/'of course there is you old silly' thing

and whilst i don't think ep6 will be like a huge battle, seems a bit ooc, Shit Goes Down, largely gets resolved in the first half just like s1. vavoom (not that kinda vavoom) (maybe) sorted

second coming gets sorted. idk how. but it does

id love for there to actually be some kind of interaction with god? in a way? even if she just stays silent, and they basically just come to their own conclusions about What The Point Is, and she just. smiles like the mona lisa

then the rest of ep6 is just. pure south downs

kiss

OOOOH a kiss outside the front door of their new yellow cottage (i live and die by the yellow cottage aesthetic) (because it's ✨pretty✨) AND IT'S RAINING BUT IT'S OKAY BECAUSE THERE'S A CUTE LITTLE GABLE PORCH OVER THEIR FRONT DOOR now there's a Vavoom

and another

oh go on then have another. and a cuddle. artful shot of them waking up of a sunny peaceful morning in bed together snuggling (ft. tasteful duvet/blanket draping? yes pls)

end of s3 has them slow dancing in the lounge/kitchen (in the GARDEN???) to The Song and the nightingale flies away from the windowsill outside (you can pry this visual away from my cold dead hands)

RIGHT so this is complete overkill @silcosmoke and for that you have my most profuse apologies bestie but. tldr yes a passionate snog in the midst of Tension and Drama, and then just lots of lovely little nice ones ☺️💕

[alitgblog]

volume V thoughts bc once again fusebox has got me intrigued

first of all omg wtf

I usually end up reading a few spoilers before I play bc I'm bored at work but don't wanna play the volume until I get back but I had such a busy day at work I didn't do that and wow ok I gotta avoid spoilers more often I was shook

so excess baggage was okay. like yeah makes sense we want the couples to be tense again before voting the couple superlatives thing, but also such a throwaway. (and also I talked about this in my post about last volume, but we have so many challenges in a row!! why)

since my MC did initially flirt with Oakley a lot more than Jin, I do think it's funny Oakley talks about how cool MC's secret is (like it's annoying fs but also something I've seen happen on love island to create small drama but then ultimately it's just talk so it's nice to have that happen here).

Also i was worried Oakley was gonna turn on us or flirt with us and abandon Emel, so I'm very glad he was just asking for advice. (I'm a big Oakley and Emel fan, what can I say?) I'd be okay if that led into a different storyline where you could pursue Oakley later, but with how fusebox has been making the seasons lately, once you pick you've made your choice and I do miss in for example s2 where even if you don't pick Lurik when they first become available you have a chance the next recoupling and it feels like it changes your route.

Jack is still mad at MC??

Couples game was fun. I wish fusebox formatted it so you discuss with your partner and then make a choice before everyone revealed their answers instead of people talking and explaining before the player picks their answer. Like we know the characters already, just let me pick and we can see who agrees.

Oakley's evening wear outfit 😍 best dressed boy fs

I of course could never bear to see Oakley and Emel go, but I surprisingly actually missed Sophie and Jack as soon as they left but like in a me missing Allegra and Miles/Jasper when they left. Like yeah they were irritating but they brought drama and I understand where Allegra/Sophie is coming from (and I support women's wrongs lol)

Jin going through his main character of S6 arc??? No but fr I can't imagine why the public would vote him out so he's either hiding something that's gonna come out when he gets back or he was voted most popular and is gonna come back soon. I hope it's not casa because (1) that already happened in s6 and (2) I want the chance to flirt around with new characters in casa lol. I've seen a few theories around and I have no idea which is true but if I could throw in another idea which is post casa, MC is finally with a bombshell, Claudia/Theo, or a casa boy and things seem good but Jin and Luna show up together as returning islanders and MC has to choose between Jin and her current LI.

It's so interesting for drama, like ik I'm here for it. But a lot of people like loyal routes so I hope yall are doing okay

I was like half hoping we could walk out with him even though of course fusebox isn't giving us that option but like I wish he said something like hey you just got here, enjoy your time at the Villa and I'll wait out there for you no matter what happens. just to explain why MC wouldn't leave. that being said, their goodbye was so sweet.

One thing that's different in the game than the show is the number of islanders present at once, which makes sense its hard to keep track of all of them (though they've done it before in s2), and it just is weird bc now the people in the Villa are MC (single), Claudia and Theo (who don't like each other), and Emel and Oakley (only one couple).

despite my complaint about the challenge thing this is great pacing/timing for a new islander. it's just a shame the screwed over Tyler coming in so soon after MC. I can't remember if I already wrote this in my last post but I almost wish he came in with MC and got a better chance.

[aruz11]

My music video review ~vol.4~

※I recommend reading the link below before reading the review. https://www.tumblr.com/aruz11/743804475824914432/this-is-the-first-post?source=share

Title: Crash on the big Shoopuf

Post date: 16 Feb 2009

length: 1:28

song: Clash on the Big Bridge

This time I review the video named Crash on the big Shoopuf, uploaded 16 Feb 2009. It was the first video where I used a song from the Final Fantasy series. At that time, I wanted to use other songs from Final Fantasy series, but they were all too difficult for me. So, I decided to use Clash on the Big Bridge, as I felt it would be relatively easier to make a music video with. Now, let's begin.

About the song

This is a song used in the game "Final Fantasy V." Personally, I feel like it's a Gilgamesh theme. This is one of the most popular battle songs in the Final Fantasy series. It's a song with a very rock melody that sticks in my head. Even if you haven't played Final Fantasy V, you might still have heard the song. However, the composer Nobuo Uematsu didn't really like this song. It was even considered for removal because its style was somewhat out of place with the world of Final Fantasy V. It might surprise some people, but perhaps it's these kinds of works that later become popular.

Features of this video

Regarding the audio, I focused on energy rather than precision. Since this music video is relatively short compared to my other videos, I focused on how to build energy. The intro is the prime example of this approach. Instead of carefully fitting the lines, I just layered the audio to make it lively, resulting in that energetic intro. I also managed to showcase some funny scenes with Tidus and Wakka, so despite the short duration, I think I was able to express what I wanted at the time. One more thing, it might be strange to mention this now, but the original song title is "Clash on the Big Bridge," while the video title is "Crash on the Big Shoopuf," with "Clash" and "Crash" being different. This was actually just my mistake. At first, I thought about correcting it, but I either forgot or found it too troublesome, and eventually, I just left it as is. Fifteen years have passed since then. I have no intention of changing the title. Viewers might find it odd, but I will leave it as it is. Even when I look back at the video now, I can't deny that my editing skills were still quite crude and unpolished. However, I think it has a peculiar charm and humor that my current videos don't have. In other words, it's a typical MAD video.

My favorite scenes

0:00~0:08 I designed the intro this way to give the impression of having a lot of energy, even if it doesn't make much sense.

The funny scenes with Tidus and Wakka were not initially planned, but I suddenly got the idea to include them.

1:05~1:06 "Break through!" is one of Auron's lines that I really like because it's so cool.

That's all for now. Thank you for visiting. See you next time.

[ibyte13]

I keep seeing posts about how awful biden is and that we shouldn't vote for him blah blah blah. The problem with this is that there is a misunderstanding happening on how our political system is currently functioning and whatpart of its life span we are in. I went off in the tags of a post earlier and i apologize for that I'm just gonna make an actual post about it now.

Right now we are at a tipping point in old politics vs new politics. Old politics being that the majority of important shit that matters is happening behidn the scenes. You don't get to see that as the general public for a number of reasons. The things going on are delicate political maneuvering, anyone whose played a political intrigue game knows this. It's a lot like a game of chess except the pieces you are playing with are also other players and you are also a piece on their board. This makes control of information very very important, so keeping it out of the public eye is tantamount to success. These are the rules biden is playing by. The man is an old school politician and he's very good at it. He's a repair man, not a hero.

What trump is doing is playing new politics rules where he's essentially shattering the screen that hides all the pieces and moves that are happening from the public eye and dragging them into the light. People are reactionary. The public as a whole are awful at playing chess and cannot see even three moves down the line from where they are now. So when someone playing by old rules, who speaks vaguely in order to try and placate the masses without revealing their hand is faced with someone who plays with half a deck up their sleeve and their hand face up on the table, now the ones holding their hands close look suspicious, even though you can see the other guys sleeve has a distinct card shaped lump in it and he is not subtle about pulling cards out.

New school politics is the equivalent of a high school popularity contest. "He said this and she said that, then this person did this and can you even imagine the audacity they had to even thi k of saying such a thing" that's new politics. It's an excellent manipulation tactic in the age of social media where the distraction is the key. "Here look at this flashy thing of a politician not being in the know about queer people" or some such while the same person who said that is actively making it so that queer people can't marry or what have you. This is just an example.

So back to Biden v Trump. Biden is old school. Trump is new school. The fact that they are both old dudes matters not. The thing about both is that they are just people and people are not perfect. Biden is not condemning Israel's actions in Gaza which is fucking terrible and worse is bending over backwards to give supplies to israel in fact which is double fucking terrible. We will face the consequences for this. Problem, he's operating under the fact that we have a treaty (i think don't quote me on this and in fact feel free to correct me here) with israel. We are their allies and as their allies we cannot just condemn them outright. Not by old politic rules. But new politic rules are making it a necessity and using it as a manipulation point. What Biden is doing is about a hundred other things that will not make news but ultimately improve our lives here in the states, for example he's working to make marijuana a schedule 3 drug instead of schedule 1 meaning it'd be federally legal for recreational use much in the same way ibprofen or aspirin is from my understanding. No more piss tests, veterans would be able to use it if they're reciving VA medical care etc. Not making headlines. The rail workers strike, Biden forced a stop gap resolution to save infrastructure and critical economic functions, then kept working to get the union members everything they wanted. Again, no headlines about that second part. Airplans are being required to be more disability friendly and required to have bathrooms large enough for an on board wheel chair if need be. Again not making headlines, and these are just the things I've had to dig for recently.

Trump did nothing like that. He made capitol hill the laughing stock of the modern world for all four years he was in office and tried to stage a coup on live television. There is a maifesto circulating called Project 2025 and if you haven't heard of it go look it up. It's 90 almost 100 pages detailing what will happen should trump or another republican be elected president in this coming election cycle. The long story short is that if that happens, we will not have another election and US democracy as we know it will die.

Now rag on Biden all you want, critcize him, let it be known that you are not happy with how he has handled Israel and Gaza. But don't pretend for a second that Trump would handle it any better or any republican for that matter. They'd've handled it worse most likely plus a whole lot of other shit to boot.

Another tidbit you might have pop up into your mind: but ibyte! There's more than just Trump and Biden to vote for! And to that I say yes, there is, but let me let you in on a secret about American politics: if you do not vote for Biden, you are voting for Trump even if you are voting for a canidate that is arguably better than Biden and here's why. The democratic convention and democratic party have thrown their weight behind Biden as the incumbent President so any third candidate already won't have the backing of one of the two major parties. The republicans are throwing their weight behind Trump or someone slightly left of trump (i haven't had a chance to keep up with that the past month or so). Problem is that the democrats and republicans tend to be so.e of the most right leaning parties in this country, so people who hate democrats and will not vote for them sure as shit ain't gonna vote for someone more left of democrats which is where a majority of the small but better candidates lie on the spectrum, they're gonna vote for Trump or whatever Trump replacement republicans have on deck. Thus is you vote for someone more left than Biden, all you are doing is taking vltes away from Biden because everyone more right wasn't gonna vote for anyone but a republican anyway. This is why it's important that you vote for Biden.

This election period is not about Biden vs Trump: round 2. This election is about Democracy vs Dictatorship. A friend of mine likes to say that history doesn't repeat itself, but it sure as hell rhymes. We are quite literally watching a rerun of the events leading to World War II right on schedule. The US will become the fourth Reich if we do not take this election seriously and the facist corners of this country know it and are doing everything in their power to be loud about how badly biden is fucking up the israel gaza tragedy.

Yes be critical, but do not pretend for a minute that Biden and Trump are equivalent choices.

[gandalfsbignaturals]

i think the bit about the "stolen land" in relation to china thing is complicated, because china is a really large region with a LOT of ethnic minorities and a v long history. for example, the manchus once conquered china and established the qing dynasty, but you can't really call them "colonizers" either because they're an extremely small minority today with a dying culture. the mongolians are a similar case where they're also a minority living in inner mongolia, china. there's also other minorities (some of whom may be thought of as indigenous) who have faced a lot of persecution, sometimes even genocide, over the course of history and still today, like the hakka, the hmong, etc., and not all of them have a land to call their "homeland" either. so i think "stolen land" isn't really a useful concept to think about chinese ethnic relations and chinese history in general, because it kinda blinds you to a lot of the complexities of chinese history and how different groups have interacted over time

this is entirely fair! im certainly not an expert on east asian history, and ive only got a passing knowledge of current events there. i do think though that any comparison of china with the united states needs to acknowledge that even if china is doing all of the same terrible things as the USA, they are very different beasts because of the incredibly different histories of their respective areas.

i think its disingenuous to say that either one is "better," theyre both empires who throw their economic weight around and as large states they have a vested interest in, well, doing all the shitty things that large states do. that said, i definitely feel more animosity towards the evil empire made up of foreigners who came in and razed a continents worth of thriving societies to make way for 6 lane highways, parking lots, and golf courses, partly because my own ancestors were here for and contributed to it, and i deeply resent that legacy.

i think, though, that i also probably fall victim to the trap of thinking the grass is greener in china because i dont live there, and so am not personally aware of a lot of the issues relevant to people who *do* live there. meanwhile, living here in the USA where i speak the language and know the culture, i can very easily point to a bunch of things in my immediate surroundings which are, speaking frankly, fucked up.

ultimately, both governments suck, and ideally the peoples revolution will one day overthrow them both 🙏 /j

[solvicrafts]

ask meme: A, B, R, S,V, Z?

A - Ships that you currently like a lot.

Kimmuriel's undying loyalty to Jarlaxle is absolute crack to me right now. I want someone to care about me at least 1/10th as much as Kimmuriel does for Jarlaxle omfg

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

I don't think there really are any? I don't really get into shipping stuff in general and a lot of stuff just kinda... goes over my head. I've changed my mind on a lot of other things, but I can't think of a pairing I've ever re-considered.

(not for a lack of effort, though; I still remember the cursed "Stand With Ward" days during Agents of SHIELD when people were insisting that Ward is the perfect person for Skye/Daisy. I, on the other hand, have fucking standards and would never ship her with a goddamn sci-fi neonazi)

R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom?

I really really really love Gromph's friendship with Kimmuriel. It's strangely wholesome with the way it ended up and man was it a hell of a journey. First we have Jarlaxle offering Kimmuriel up against his will to teach Gromph psionics, then we have Gromph desperately wanting to make him proud/win his approval only to get BETRAYED by him, leading him to summoning Demogorgon and ending up on the surface and having to leave his life in Menzoberranzan behind...

...and it ends up with Kimmuriel spending the last few books gently guiding Gromph towards healing, finding meaningful connections with people, and possibly connecting with what little family he still has left (which is especially poignant considering Kimmuriel has NO family left and that was the major reason he betrayed Gromph in the first place)

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

Yvonnel the Eternal looks like Yzma

...Also, a few more:

Valas is actually a lot more mischievous and playful than he appears in most of WotSQ, but he was under extreme duress during that series so we didn't get to see his cuter playful side D:

Ryld would've done so well in Bregan D'aerthe :(

Also he would've been good friends with Zaknafein, I think.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

THIS IS A TOUGH ONE because I relate to all of them in some ways (and answering too honestly might make people think I'm really full of myself when it's actually the exact opposite lol)

buuuuuuuuuuuuut

I'd say it's probably a tie between Jarlaxle and Kimmuriel, for very different reasons.

When it comes to my actual personality IRL I'm much more like Kimmuriel; intensely introverted, socially awkward, honestly kind of enjoy the fact that people are put off by my weirdness and find me unsettling, would love to stargaze, feel like an outsider in the world who should have been born as something else, and I spend a lot of time pursuing some niche interests.

But when it comes to motivations and certain mannerisms, I tend to be a lot more like Jarlaxle. I've always got some project I'm working on, I have a strong desire to help people around me get out of their oppressive situations/life circumstances (I've got a mile-long list of people I plan on reaching out to if I am ever in a position where I have a successful enough business to start hiring people), and a lot of what I do is out of motivation to get out of my own life circumstances that I've felt very trapped in.

Also, I'm flashy as fuck. I went to work at my last job with little poseable dragons chilling out on my shoulders sometimes.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Being a life-long drow enthusiast has absolutely changed how I view... basically everything. I can immediately pick up on some things that I ordinarily wouldn't (for neurodivergence reasons lol) simply because my love of drow has trained me to notice things about people (fictional and IRL, in fact)

For non-drow fandom stuff? I'm still really enjoying Skyrim. I started playing I think close to 5 years ago, during a year where my family members were dropping like flies and I was constantly sick, so the game's pretty special to me, and I just have so. much. fun! with it.

Right now I'm doing a modded playthrough with a dunmer/drow who started out as a vampire:

This screenshot is from my previous playthrough, which ended with her marrying Rumarin, but I ended up deciding to end it on that note because I wasn't really happy with some of the choices I made in joining certain factions and wanted a do-over, so I just started a new game a few days ago.

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

Am I the only one who’s not really enjoying chapter 2 so far? I feel a tad guilty for saying it but apart from Jimin’s album, none of the solo work we’ve seen so far has really made it for me 😕 Objectivity I found Indigo really good but I realize I never really reach for it. Face has been the only album I’ve listened to loads of times. I like Layover, but I know it won’t be to the point of listening it again and again. I was a bit sad because I was excited for Jungkook’s album but I really don’t like Seven at all. I miss Jin and Hobi’s humour and energy. I guess I’m much more a BTS fan as a group rather than the members separately. Jimin is my bias, I have a soft spot for him, but I would still choose the band as a whole over him as a soloist. I feel a bit bad for saying it.. I hate the way the fandom is right now, all the competitiveness, and oftentimes I catch myself thinking I want this chapter to be over so we can get the band together again. I just want to see them live at least once, as I became a fan at the beginning of 2020 and as I live in Europe I didn’t have the opportunity to see them. I’m also bored about how they tend to focus so heavily on the US market now..of course I understand why, but still, it’s annoying. I don’t know if there’s anyone who feel the same? I just want the solo area to come to an end.. sorry for the rant, I know I’m being selfish but I’m getting bored with this area😫

I understand where you're coming from. I miss BTS like crazy. Nothing tops how much fun they are together and how their love for each other is a balm to the soul. I miss them dropping music and their performances. I miss the excitement of a BTS comeback. It's really not the same with them solo. Nothing is as exciting, everything is rushed, and we have no time to even anticipate or feel excited about new music dropping because it happens too often.

Indigo is a great album but I haven't listened to it much either, V's debut was my least favorite in many ways, I didn't like JITB as a whole, I didn't care about Face either. I like Seven but I've many, many complaints about it, and am feeling very apprehensive about JK's next single and debut album. I would've been happier if I had more performances to look forward to. When BTS have a comeback, they perform their title track so much that we get tired of it. But Hobi and Suga were the only ones who performed more than a handful of times, and doing a tour isn't the same as having performances uploaded to BANGTANTV every week. I miss group performances, Bangtan Bombs, Run BTS, the random promotional videos for Chuseok or whatever, Bon Voyage, Winter and Summer packages, ITS, etc. Photoshoots and variety shows aren't the same, I don't care for them... I miss the excitement of waking up and seeing them all at a certain event or at the airport. Nothing is as fun with only one of the members, and I know they're all looking forward to 2025 as well!

It's insane that it feels like BTS was an hallucination. Before 2021 the idea of the members not being seven was just fucking crazy, but now BTS don't even feel like a group anymore. I can't even imagine them together now. You're definitely not the only one who prefers them as a group. Most Armys do. It's okay to be bored by their solo ventures. It is what it is. It's not selfish. You're allowed to not like the way things turned out. I'm sure you're not blaming BTS and that you understand their current situation.

Also, I've no plans to seem them live. I know it won't happen and I'm more afraid of having the opportunity than not. If they go to Spain, for example, it will be relatively simple for me to see them live so I will feel pressured to buy tickets, but it's so fucking complicated to do so. Plus, there's traveling, the waiting at the venue, and all the stress that goes with it. If I don't get tickets, I'll be sad, and if I do, I'll be nervous that the experience won't live up to my expectations. I honestly prefer it that I've never had to worry about missing a chance to see them live because it's never come up. But I also get your pov haha. I hope you get to see them at least once!

Thanks for the ask!

[planetdream]

hii i feel like im . poking ur brain with a stick but i saw you were talking about astrology again! do you have any thoughts about taurus sun leo moon leo rising tropical vs taurus sun cancer moon cancer rising sidereal ? fairly new to astorlogy and i havent really managed to get properly into either venue yet and cant decide how i feel about either chart lol 😅😭 also also moon is in first house in both charts if thats of any interest

hey! don't worry, I love talking about astrology, my inbox is always open for questions you might have!! this is sorta a long post; i hope things make sense but lmk if you have any questions !!!

i have a small post about sidereal v tropical astrology*. i would say that beginners should start with tropical/western astrology because sidereal can have you a bit confused. I also think that the main thing one should know when getting into astrology is that: your natal chart is not solely your personality; it is your entire life in a small circle. things might not resonate because you haven't gone through it yet lol.

*something I didn't mention in the post is tropical and sidereal astrology have like, mathematical differences and differences via astronomy (basically how the stars currently are [sidereal] v how the stars used to be [tropical]). from my understanding, the actual interpretation of the planets and signs, is the same save for some minor differences. sidereal astrology also does not use Uranus, Neptune and Pluto which I find to be kinda lame /hj

I think sidereal is also very helpful during the later years of your life, once you're actually out n about and making astrological observations. this is not to say that you can't use sidereal now, I just find that for beginners who pick up on western astrology and more pop-astrology (aka; ur sun sign is blank so you act like blank), sidereal can be perceived as difficult and it is best to get a sound understanding of what the planets and signs really, truly mean before delving into the differences between zodiac systems.

another big thing is: to really pick between your sidereal and tropical charts, it's ultimately thee best to really look at your planetary aspects. what are the relationships between the planets in each chart?

for example, just looking at your tropical sun placement (10H Taurus Sun) tells us a few things: 10H suns typically do great in their careers (and typically have a really good public image), they're headstrong and are generally natural leaders or, chronic overachievers. but this is where we dig can deeper: are their any planets aspecting your sun? are those aspects challenging or more harmonious?

lets look towards your sidereal sun, still in taurus, but the house placement changes to the 11H—sun in the 11H you can easily obtain friends, (peeking back at tropical; your 11H would be in gemini—you're generally very social in settings with friends. you're probably the friends with lots of info and facts; perhaps your siblings/cousins are your best friends. or maybe you know some really cool party games.) the same goes for your sidereal chart; for depth and more understanding, look to the planets aspecting each other. because, lets say, you feel like you don’t connect with people easily—are their any other planets in the 11H for you? are there negative aspects to your sun?

1H moon, if it’s sidereal cancer; cancer rules over the moon so this is a natural area for cancer. since the moon changes signs every 2-3 days, cancer moons can be a bit moody on the daily; constant shifts between emotions. with the moon in the 1H, and this goes regardless of the sign it’s in, you’re likely seen as emotional, even if you think you’re not (leo moon). it’s very easy to wear your heart on your sleeve in some cases. 1H moons are also very nurturing, a bit of a naturally understanding person. yet again—depends on the aspects to your moon.

as someone who knows a lot of leo moons, i would read you on that but i’ll save it for another day 🙏🏾🙏🏾 (i give leo moons the side eye but that’s mostly because i have leo on my 12H)

side note -> are you seen as the mom friend? the one that’s caring and looks after everybody? kinda the energy i’m getting, especially via your sidereal chart haha

if i were to give a more in-depth description of the nuances (and similarities) between your tropical and sidereal chart, it’d be easier to visually see your natal wheel rather than just a few written placements, as then i could pick out smaller things that might separate the charts.

[bedlamgames]

Q&A #117

Quick bit of housekeeping. Next fortnightly will be on the 5/6th rather than this week. Right now onto some Q's also A's.

[ Anonymous asked : ] Hey, after reformatting my computer i no longer am able to get rags to open the game. Have tried all the fixes except the SQL, however that link is dead. Is there any rehost of the required SQL available? Also couldn't find any specification on what i would be looking for on my own. Also sorry if this has been addressed somewhere and I have overlooked it. Love No Haven, it is a unique game that really scratches an itch for fantasy smut I've not found anywhere else.

- - Just checked the link on the patreon help page and that still works and hope that helps. If not well next RAGS update is going to be the last one, and then it's going to be all Twine after that and won't that be lovely. Thanks for saying that, it really does mean alot!

[ jiffy999 asked : ] Bug Report No Haven v.0.983 in RAGS 2.6.10 [hope this OK, and I'm not doing anything wrong] ((snip a whole bunch of bugs)) Great game, btw ;).

- - Really appreciated, definitely okay, and thanks for the reports and compliment.

[ Anonymous asked : ] Any chance of certain traits making it to character creation? Just to list off a few immediately coming to mind, things like Beastmaster, Emotional, Debutante, various Faiths, Innocent/Virgin, Spiritual, Were-creature. Really just any that show up on slavers but not for the player. Sorry if this has been asked and I've missed it.

- - Definitely high. Faiths I deliberately parked as I have a whole update in mind when I expand on the Spiritual Leader role and where the various Faiths will matter a lot more than they do now. Of those the only one I'd rule out is Innocent/Virgin as they're not going to come up with the idea of running an encampment like No Haven, and Were as I want to keep the actual transformation more off screen and hinted at as it's really horrible/disturbing in setting.

[ From the Discord asked : ] are you looking forward to being free of rags and finally letting that engine die?

- - Oh you have no idea how much. If you think playing in it is bad, coding is so much worse, doubly so when you're doing it the second time after it's randomly crashed yet again.

[ From the Discord asked : ] How high can Lago'Mae jump

- - Depends on the Lago'Mae in question. An athletic, trained one can vertically jump 6-7 foot from a standing start. They're not so good horizontally in which the neko ability to glomp is unparralleled.

[ From the Discord asked : ] Who of the non-aquatic races is the best swimmer?

- - Lamia for sure. They are incredibly fast in the water, and it's only that they can't hold their breath even as long as human that serves as a handicap.

[ From the Discord asked : ] What happens to True Angels when they get corrupted

- - What happens on the Assignment when you get one basically. You're forcibly stuffing a purely divine being into a fleshsuit to limit their power, also so they can be boinked, and after a couple of decades the corrupting and biomantic magic holding it together will fall apart, and the divine being will return to the Dawning Light from which they came.

[ From the Discord asked : ] Since we're moving to a better engine, so to speak, will their be any in-game race changes from normal gameplay? for example, since fallen are demi's that get corrupted, would it be feasible for demi's that have corruption used on them in camp to "switch" races?

- - Woo my favourite kind of question, as that's already a thing in game. There's even specific text in Changing Places if it happens.

[ From the Discord asked : ] what's something mechanically you're looking forward to implementing now that the tools won't just crumble?

- - The biomancy additions for sure. Adding and changing menus in RAGS suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. Yes that number of 'u's was very warranted. There's way more menus needed for Biomancy currently than you might think as there's a lot of checks changing what is available, and having to update each one is both slow and vexing. It's going to be so much easier adding stuff like copious cum when I do it in Twine.

[ From the Discord asked : ] What has been the thing that really helped your creative juices most recently (I.e what shows, games, books, movies have inspired you recently?)

- - I've been playing some Total Warhammer with added lewd mods recently. Given No Haven has a lot of WFB in the dna it shouldn't be surprising that it's neat to do others do something similar. Not all of it's to my tastes. That's the problem when you're not making it yourself :D Still, there's a lot that was, and it definitely tickled me creatively. There's one idea especially in Corrupted Valkia that incorporates bondage while still being able to actually do stuff that I'm kicking myself for not thinking of myself.

[ From the Discord asked : ] How often are the so called advanced races (aka legally distinct flayers, vampires, Minotaurs, incubi etc) encountered or known about in the world?

- - It's not just them being rare, which they are, it's them being flat out illegal beings, as they're incompatible to the goals of the human empire.

These are the kind of beings who crave to be in charge by their very nature, not just over one or a few, but vast unending dominion, and if not they have the kind of power that makes them very able to have their way. See the minotaur lord of the dungeons beneath the Deep Mountains. Compared to lamia, harpies, driders, or any other weirder races they just can't be integrated into society.

Everyone knows what a vampire or incubi are because the human empire makes everyone very aware why they're so incredibly dangerous and that even the slightest sign of their activities needs to be reported so they can be stomped down on hard.

[ From the Discord asked : ] are draki the rarest non-advanced/one per camp race? (in setting, not in-game)

- - Either them or Legion.

[ From the Discord asked : ] what's your favorite race lore-wise

- - Mermaids. Really looking forward to sharing what I've done with them as I think they're super destinct compared to pretty much any other setting that has used them.

If not them then Wisps, Legion, or Oozes. They're all of the similat vein of taking the single most weakest, most fodder like races in other setting, and extrapolating them into what if they're the ones who get to be deeply awesome for once. Wisps have their blue/orange alien view on things (plus a bunch of stuff I've barely even hinted at), Legion for their being what you see being only the very tip of the iceberg of what they actually are, and Oozes are just a lot of fun.

[ From the Discord asked : ] What's your favorite area to design for, be it lore, assignments, just setting, etc.

- - That's really hard. I think maybe the Great Plains is the least as it's not really got that much of a hook so it can be a bit more vanilla. The rest though I enjoy pretty much equally.

I will say though that I do dig how Ever Forest has by far the most conflict, and it's fun to write this four way war where the big four dominant races hate the others equally so there's never going to be an alliance, but also all four really hate outsiders too, hate any of the others getting their hands on outsiders first, and so there's a lot of fun competition. Add the various natural threats and unnatural threats and it's very easy to write a reason for there to be a fail or disaster on any given Assignment.

Only issue there is now I'm in Twine and have the actual ability to do global find and replace is I'm thinking of renaming, or at least coming up with an alternate name, for the Wood Elves and Forest Goblins. That they both of synonyms for a collection of trees in their name is often a headache in writing where I need to discuss both of them and where they are all in the same paragraphs without it getting repititive. I've occasionally refered to the Wood Elves as the Kindred so that's a possibility for them, but I'm not sure what I'd do with the Forest Goblins. There's something to be said is not throwing too much made up words at someone in getting people into the setitng. It's why you'll note that all of the big major local power players have very simple easy to remember titles, so you have the Mistress, the Lord, and the Baron for example.

[pride-of-storm]

i was a legal assistant for like two hundred hours and using 'v' for 'versus' will never leave me

[halliescomut]

I have a Fic request for KimChay

So like many of us on this platform I got pulled (mostly willingly) into the just absolute wonder that is KinnPorsche The Series, and we can talk later about the full effects of that in a different post, because this one has a point I SWEAR!

In addition to watching the series I have been reading multiple fanfics, and while I love all of the couples, I'm really digging KimChay right now, because to be honest Jeff is just the textbook description of attractive, and Barcode as Porchay is just Sunshine in human form and I mean, how could I resist???

So I have a fic request? suggestion? inspiration? IDK, but what I really want is a fic (long, short, multi-chapter, one-shot, IDC) where Kim teaches/trains Chay in self defense, and it turns spicy maybe?. Now I have a lot of ideas for this, that I'll outline in a minute, but I'm asking for this solely because I HAVE NO IDEA how to write it myself. I don't have enough knowledge or experience with martial arts of any description to do this well, and so I simply can't, but if this creates a little plot bunny for you please for the love of Kinn's half-open shirt follow that bunny wherever they take you. For me? Please?

Now onto ideas:

For one-shot or short, there's really not much more context beyond Chay sunshines Kim into teaching him basic self-defense, and so he finally does and we get a scene of the training and it's either adorable/hilarious or v serious but suddenly very hot...or both. For the humor aspect the vibe that I'm seeing is a bit like Julien trying to teach Jenna Jiu Jitsu (part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkvTpmQ7M48 and part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In7FBG6rPw0 ). Like, there's some seriousness attempted, but also Chay makes Kim laugh too much, so it just devolves into absolute insanity. For serious, I mean...reference any Kinn Porsche fight scene and adjust for personality and skill level. Bonus points for a bonus scene of Tankhun watching it on the CCTV with his bodyguards (Pete included) like it's one of his dramas.

For longer form, this could be accurate to current show canon (haven't finished the novel yet so I don't all of the context there) or AU-ish, that can be up to you.

-Chay goes to Pete, or if we're going AU, Big or Chan and asks them to train him, and they eventually give in because we've all seen Porchay's face. I think that Porsche would say no to Chay learning self-defense (or fighting) because he's always going to be there to protect him historical canon evidence be damned, and really Kim would be on that same wagon so. But you could also go with Chay doesn't even try asking Kim or Porsche first, he just assumes they would say no.

-He either keeps it a secret or not, base this around how much you would want to see him progress I guess, because I think it would alter the context for when Kim takes over. For example if we go for, it's not a secret so Kim essentially shows up for the first lesson and can't stand seeing another man's hands on Chay regardless of the context and takes over. If he keeps it a secret, I do think it could be fun for him to become fairly proficient, and actually hold his own a little bit against Kim, especially since we know Kim would hold back a little.

-Also, I think if Pete or Chan were Chay's first teacher, they would teach him a trick that might help him get Kim by surprise, at least once.

-Extra credit: Any and all Tankhun reactions to the general goings on, because of course. High levels of banter, both sarcastic and sweet. Porsche finding out about his training by accident and being mad for really no reason, but just because Porsche is an over-protective doofus who would seemingly rather throw himself into danger before seeing Porchay or Kinn break a sweat. Any and all humorous inclusions of Vegas just snarking on everyone. Maybe Macau joins the class too, so that Chay has a sparring buddy?

Also, there's no specified rating I'd be looking for, but I do think if it's in your comfort zone some close combat training could turn pretty sensual pretty quickly as the entire KinnPorsche series has shown.

I generally read most fics on AO3, so if you have an account there and you post there, just let me know. You could post it here if that's more your style. I also do occasionally read on FF.net and Wattpad. But seriously, if this post inspired you and you write something PLEASE let me know!!! I want to read this fic so bad. I'm now going to proceed to tag the everloving heck out of this post in the hopes that it finds ANYONE who may want to write it.

[nightswithkookmin]

RE: JUNGKOOK CHANGED IN RUN

Anon:

Why did Jungkook not want to be on Jimin's team in the last run episode? He has changed a lot from before. Thoughts.

My first thought is, you don't gotta interpret everything in a negative light.

Not every strong reaction is a bad reaction.

I'd be a phony ass fraud if I sat here and told you with my two thumbs that I didn't raise a brow at that moment. I did.

Especially when you contrast that episode with run 112 which falls on all fours with this current situation- ok may not all fours.

But in that video, like many others, RM had suggested they form teams based on the sunglasses they wore, just as he had suggested they form teams based on the seating arrangements.

Of course he'd meant it as a Joke just as we discussed in a previous blog post. Personally, I expected they make a draw, rock papers or even dance in circles like they did in the other episode to decide who got who in the competition.

But it seems in all the times he's been paired with JM he's been supper thrilled about it. He even warned the members not to underestimate him and JM when they'd unanimously concluded they were the disadvantaged team in the game- Jin not even bothering to ask them what their scores were on Korean.

He reset the timer to 10 seconds when Jk pointed out he wasn't good at reading fast

When the time stopped and they were asked to make a team of four, he turned to find JM almost immediately as if to make sure JM was part of the four, he held on to his arm to prevent RM from breaking the link.

He was supposed to pair with Yoongi and Jimin with Tae but he didn't even try to find Suga. At least V did try to find Jimin. He moved towards JM and when he realized JK was hugging him he went for Suga.

Throughout the episode he was giving JM tips on how to cheat and shot when he wasn't sure of the answers.

Yet in the last run, he didn't seem as enthusiastic about being paired with JM- or so, he'd have us believe. Smirk.

He ain't slick. Lol.

To me he seemed, on the surface of it, either really salty about the others having Jin or RM on their teams or upon reflection, just plain ass overcompensating for something.

I'd go with the later.

It's similar to how, Jimin got the Sauna card and he'd complained about not liking the Sauna but then swapped cards with Tae so he could be on JM's team.

Or how he'd make a theatrical show of wanting to win a competition but smirk satisfactorily to himself when he loses.

I really don't think it's a big deal.

Personally, I love watching them paired up and doing such activities. It's a great way to see how they work together as partners and as a team.

It's also a great way for them to spend time with eachother, enjoy eachother, nurture their bond and strengthen their relationship.

Fanservice or not, scripted or not, you cannot deny that spending time together doing activities together is good for building a relationship.

They spend a considerable about of time together off cameras but a lot of their time is spent on cameras and at work.

They gotta find a way to make their relationship work on the work as I keep saying. All that 'fanservice' people say they are doing? That's them making it work. They gotta find a way to go on dates, feed eachother, hold each other's hands, tell Jokes, laugh at eachother's jokes, express their attraction for each other, flirt, share eachother's interests and do things couples do without inviting public scrutiny to their every interaction and invasion of their privacy.

So where they see an opportunity they go for it. For JK it's the the little decisions he makes on their behalf like choosing where they will sleep, what activities they can do together, wanting the bigger room, making sure JM wins the presidential suite, or choosing a room detached from the other rooms.

He invests in his relationship the best way he can. Same goes for Jimin.

I keep saying this whole fanservice culture is a win win situation for them- for even any queer idol couple in the same band.

What seem like a challenge could technically be an opportunity for a date for them without dispatch breathing down their necks.

A typical example would be this. Jimin said he wanted to go get Yoga with the others but ended up going with YoonKook on their brewery excursion.

The more time they spend together, on and off cameras the more closer they get and the more they get to know eachother on a deeper level.

But you have to bare in mind, they need their personal spaces too in order for their relationship to function properly.

Jimin used can be very needy in his relationship but for the most part he enjoys his independence too.

Jk has always had a strong sense of independence but he can equally be quote needy and over attached once he is in a relationship- especially when things are going great for him.

Spending time apart, persuing personal goals and interest is good for them.

If it helps, think of moments when they hang around eachother as Jikook dates and when they hang quietly in the background of videos do think of those as them having their me times at work...

Would they miss an opportunity to 'date' or hang privately with eachother? I don't think so.

It's in their dicks interests and the interest of whole production team and crew to allow them to be around eachother as often and as much as they want and can.

I for one, I'm not prepared to sit through yet another excruciating episode of Jungkook wanting Jimin- physically and emotionally. I'm still dealing with the PTSD from the last BonV four episodes.

Y'all buy me Ko-fi please. I don't intend to sit through that shit sober.

If Jk is pushing to be on JM's team and what not it's mostly because he feels he needs to spend more time with him. If he's not pushing for that it just means he or they are both allowing for space and room in their relationship for eachother to pursue other activities and interests or even connect with other members- unless of course they are having relationship problems which I don't think is the case.

Jimin is particularly good at this.

He goes out of his way to nurture his relationship with the others even on set.

He does this especially with Tae.

He'd take Tae to go see places he and JK had already been to, he'd request to take pirate rides with Tae- even though JK is available and won't hesitate to let him know, he often make plans involving Tae or even the others- in Soop when Tae asked him to go ride around the town with him he chose to stay and manspread on Jin and Yoongi. *I'm cackling. Lmho.

Jimin is a funny guy.

Now does this mean he doesn't like spending time with Tae or that he's changed? Hell no.

Hell, Tae does the same thing from time to time too. I mean when he found out he had picked a Sauna card he asked to swap it knowing very well Jimin had picked that card too. Soulmates coulda soulmated that shit in hot piles of steamy.

Sure JK lurks around sometimes. He is the resident intruder stepping on Jimin's other ships' neck. Love him for this. Lol.

Perfect Disney villian.

Tae had to drag his ass away from the kitchen for intruding when he and JM were cooking in the Kitchen. Let's not talk about him physically removing him from JM's car or all the times he's complained about JK raining on his Vmin agenda.

When V wanted to be on a team with JM this man literally sabotaged him, hugging Jimin first. It's his laughter afterwards for me. Lmho.

V needs to insure his Jimin cos at this point it's trademark infringement. Hashtag soulmates. Lololol.

Jk needs to go ahead and free Vmin.

But JM does this too, in much more subtle ways- I'll never forget the look he had on his face when he had to get off the bus and walk home as punishment. It was the most heart breaking thing I ever seen.

Then he had to hang off Hobi to get JK to leave his friends and come to him.

It's why I used an ellipsis the last time I talked about Jimin being very mature now. Old Jimin would have, clapped back, made JK pay for that outburst if he genuinely thought JK meant what he said or believed JK really wanted to be on a team with someone else.

Y'all don't see him when JK compliments other people? He stays kicking his feet under the table🤣🤣🤣🤣

I used to pinch a gurl I liked when other gals talked to her when I was little- In my defense, I didn't even know I liked her or that it was straight up abuse💀

Jimin can be pretty scary and petty when he's mad or offended.

If it helps you sleep at might, think of this moment as just another one of those 'we've been a unit for so long do you wanna be with someone else now' scene from February last year.

Jk answered yes when JM asked him that. But do you really think he meant it?

Jikook is complex, not complicated.

They love eachother.

We can't be looking at their interactions as either or. Grey areas exist and it's not a negative thing.

Signed,

GOLDY

[tozettastone]

Re: SI Healer; big mood! I wanted to have a go at writing something like that because funnily enough, I DO know how to do sewage and electricity because of my job&major, and could write it accurately, but the problem is both I have zero time because electrical engineering major and the plot would swiftly become 'infodump about how to use magic to cheat at making transistors so calculators can be made' and a psa about wearing masks when sick and how a toilet works so plotting out the actual plot when ive kicked it in the pants like that so I dont get stuck and abandon it would be hell lol. Its so hard to find fics where people materially fix public health/living standards and such like that. There was one DA SI story where a SI invented toilets I saw, and a few people tech germ theory to a select few people, but thats it. Where are the farmers talking about soil PH theory, the engineers remaking electricity and sewage systems and steam boats, the therapists reinventing therapy and teaching it to the masses? Its such a shame because a well done 'fix this fantasy hellhole from the ground up' would be so fun to read with a good plot, but alas, very few takers on it.

This is re: this post .

Oh that sounds like an interesting course of study! I hope you enjoy what you're learning. I think that "fixing" a whole world would be a hard sell even if you could possibly have a character who had that kind of depth of expertise—it is hard to be the kind of polymath who can reinvent therapy AND build the London sewer system AND invent soil pH testing etcetera etcetera, right? Especially from a modern world, where each of these things is the sum of so much trial and error and knowledge. It's always interesting to find a character that's really invested in one relatively narrow area, I think.

EDIT: CUT FOR LENGTH

Further to my previous thoughts about the healer-type, I also think there's a tendency for narratives about fixing the fantasy hellscape world to lean very... paternalistic? Like, presumably we write about a setting because we enjoy aspects of it! So a fic that seeks to completely erase those aspects and bring the setting into alignment with an ideal modern world is also not so interesting to me. For example, in such settings as a dragon age si/oc fic, it would be important to me that the character was able to explore the possibilities of things unique to the setting like darkspawn (and red lyrium, and all things blighted), runes, spirits and magic—not just for the fixing of things (eg., using a lightning rune for electricity) but as innate factors that interact with other things, creating their own complications. So in this setting, maybe a hypothetical OC would have to think about: * Public health interventions you'd have to come up with that are super specific to darkspawn blight, or to spirits? * Can you get eg., v cholerae that's been blighted? How does that alter how pathogenic it might be to humans? * Are there fade touched microbes and do they need a completely different public health approach—can you still kill many of them by eg., boiling water? What do you do if you can't? * Are there diseases only gotten by humans or elves or qunari? Have they been used in biological warfare? Are they STILL being used? Oh dear. * Can a demon haunt your kitchen garden, and if so, what happens to your produce—does it make you sick? Does it make you better? * What therapies would we be thinking of for the dementia-like illness brought on by lyrium abuse? (Do any currently exist?) * When we talk about waste management, what does that mean in a setting where the dead are commonly possessed REGARDLESS of if they're burned to ash or not? :| * Are there interventions that we, in the modern world, might regularly use to our advantage that would interact badly with Thedas's setting in some way, and what kind of interesting cascade of fuck ups can we build from that? Those are just off the top of my head, of course, but it would be interesting to see how, instead of "brought medicine to the poor ignorant masses, didn't encounter novel problems, now I, a complete foreigner, can tell them how to fix their entire world," if we could see more... interesting, creative interactions between ideas. I know that's not necessarily what people want to get out of this kind of fic, but it's what I want to get out of this kind of fic! If there's none of that weird setting-related stuff, then there should at least be challenges getting other characters on board, in my personal ideal permutation of this story (so, not for everyone, of course). I don't want to see every single character agree with a self insert/OC's new ideas, haha. I agree with you that there are many unexplored aspects fic writers could bring to an si/oc fic in any given such fantasy setting, which would be interesting to explore! And, for what it's worth to you, if you somehow read this far, I think there's definitely a subset of readers who would enjoy this kind of "setting fix-it" OC based around infodumping electrical engineering. You'd have to turn your comments off when you got bored and stopped writing, but some people would for sure like reading it! You'd have whole reddit threads of people criticising your knowledge for sure. :) People really really like that kind of fic! (Although

they also do like to complain about that kind of fic haha.)

[mbti-enemies]

Hey, I don't know if you can help me but I'm really struggling between ISFJ, INFJ and INFP.

I pretty much pay no attention to details and am really inattentive and I live in daydreams a lot. I think in daydreams - imagine a conversation with someone else instead of just thinking even if it's just a monologue. But I don't feel like I predict the future or see patterns everywhere or read others feelings.

A lot of INFP stuff seems to fit but I'm not spontaneous, I plan everything and I don't miss deadlines.

I don't know if I'm in touch with my feelings or not but I often process them by writing in my diary. I hardly ever talk about them because I don't want others to worry, though.

I have high values and I try to follow them but I hate conflict and if I don't feel like doing something but the rest of the group wants to do this I'm joining in because I don't want them to feel bad about it.

With the current situation - war and inflation and climate change - I see a lot of negative future possibilities which sounds like inferior ne but I also get sensory overload a lot when in a bad mood where everything just gets too much and that sounds more like inferior se.

Oh, and I don't fit in. In that typical american high school movie I totally would have been the outcast but I also don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not just to fit in.

Sorry that this is so long. I just wanted to give as much information as possible. I've been pretty much addicted to MBTI and it really bothers me that I can't figure out my type because it feels like if I don't fit every stereotype, it's not my type.

okay so. this all sounds like me soooo inclined to just go ahead and type you as an infj but that might be a little biased, so ill go through step by step. oh MAN vividly remember a time intj and i excitedly bonded over daydreaming a conversation instead of just thinking about the matter.

firstly obviously, ob v i ou s l y, you really don't have to fit every stereotype in fact, that might just be impossible.

anyways, i don't see too much evidence of Si (isfj). i'd expect more consistency and liking of details, appreciation of solid facts... which sound like stereotypical example but yeah..... more of a non-isfj vibe im getting.

your inf. se thought seems about right to me (happens for me too). for ne, you said you see a lot of negative future possibilities, but perhaps it doesn't have to be coming from an inferior function: if you've been given much negative stimulus, it's only reasonable to draw negative outcomes.

since everything in mbti is really a preference (we use all the functions, but which do we choose to use), i'd give you Fe over Fi... since that seems to be what you choose (e.g going with the group even if you don't really wanna, e.g not wanting others to worry).

Also, I would point out that Fi is quite a strong dominant function as it's a judging function: infp's and other dom/aux fi users tend to be particularly connected to how they feel. they'll often use phrases where they talk about how they feel "because i like this", "i feel we should do this", "i don't like xyz". if you're unsure about whether you're connected to your emotions, and you tend to prioritise how the group feels over yourself, i would definitely give you Fe.

as for your infj unsurities.... you don't have to be good at reading other's feelings to have Fe. that's a skill, not a decision making device, and mbti is not about skills. Fe users may get a lot of practice with this skill and therefore be good at it, but they may very well not be good at it. this can also be because Fe uses a more surface-level expansive scan of the group (which can be 4 friends or the whole community) and so can't actually read individual's feelings very well. instead, fe is about caring about a group's feelings and then making decisions based on it, often aiming to achieve social harmony (e.g not making people worry, e.g going with the group).

and finally, Ni, the function i still don't know much about despite being an infj. but i can tell you what Ni is not: it's not just about seeing patterns. in fact, i think Ne can often find patterns a lot better as they can connect ideas that seem very far apart due to Ne's characteristic expansive reach. and Ni can't predict the future, of course it can't, otherwise we'd have all made a fortune off... well... fortunes. if someone or even @intj could really talk about this blasted function that would be awesome thanks

[alinaastarkov]

There's a dilemma that you Dany morons don't think about. If Dany is going to be seen as an heir she needs Dorne's support because they have gender equality. Without it Dany is behind Aegon, son of Rhaegar and Stannis, great-grandson of Aegon V. And after that there's even the chance of Robert's bastards being legitimized so she's behind Mya Stone, Bella, Gendry and Edric Storm. Dany has nothing without Dorne. But you idiots can't even acknowledge that she fucked up majorly with Quentyn Martell.

Right, you asked for a history lesson so you’re gonna get it.

George R. R. Martin has based ASoIaF on a lot of things, but it’s fair to say he has been most heavily influenced by British/ English history. The laws in Westeros are very similar to medieval England, the geography is similar, the Dance of the Dragons is literally The Anarchy (the war of succession between Empress Matilda and King Stephen), the main conflict is based on the Wars of the Roses, etc. 

Succession laws in Westeros are one of the things he took from English history, besides Dorne. The main part of this was something called male primogeniture, which he has copied into the series pretty much unchanged. Male primogeniture meant a female member of the dynasty (or, more specifically a dynast’s daughter, i.e. the daughter of the ruling monarch/ head of the family) only inherited if she had no living brothers and her brothers had no living children themselves. After that, older siblings come before younger siblings, etc. Dorne practices absolute primogeniture, where the eldest child of the dynast will inherit, no matter what gender, and they will always come before younger siblings/ anyone from extended branches of the family.

Having educated you on that fact, let’s educate you on your Stannis/ Baratheon claim which is honestly the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. No one has brought this up before cause it’s really that fucking stupid. Stannis has a claim because of Robert, but you, sir, decided to base this on Targaryen lineage, the ruling dynasty for 300 years, so let’s go. 

Obviously the daughter of the dynast (Aerys) comes before the great-grandson of the king from 50 years ago. Stannis is at least 3 generations removed from any claim to a Targaryen throne. Even in male primogeniture, the daughter of the dynast will always come before cousins/ uncles/ nephews/ any extended family. It’s why Matilda fought for her claim against her cousin, it’s why Mary I became Queen over Jane Grey and other male relatives, why Elizabeth became Queen over Philip II and Mary Queen of Scots and a bunch of male relatives, it’s why Mary II and Queen Anne both ruled, it’s why William of Orange only became King with the express permission of Anne herself who was the rightful heir. I could go on. I don’t know where this idea that Stannis has a better claim comes from cause it makes no sense. Female or not the child of the ruling monarch comes before extended family. Always. That extended family may contest it because they’re misogynists, but that doesn’t actually weaken the claim itself.

The same goes for Robert’s bastards but even more so as they are illegitimate, meaning they technically have no claim to anything at all until someone legitimises them. And by someone, I mean the monarch. Tommen will never do that and I don’t see any reason why any other claimants would either, unless it’s to put someone in charge of Storm’s End. To use another example, this is why Henry Fitzroy was never considered as a future king even as Henry VIII struggled endlessly for a son and both his daughters’ legitimacy was called into question. He was a bastard. End of story. They have less of a claim than Stannis, and Stannis has basically none. Besides, to make a claim to the throne that is weaker, you need a strong army. Robert’s bastards have none, Stannis is losing more of his every day, meanwhile Dany has the strongest army in the series. She has the strongest claim and the power to back it up.

Now, onto Aegon. Going off the law I’ve just explained, Aegon would come before Dany. There are a few problems in universe, however. For a start, Aegon is likely an imposter, and so would have no claim. See Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck as good examples of this sort of thing. The second is that Aerys (likely) disinherited Rhaegar and his children, passing over him in favour of Viserys as his heir.

When Prince Rhaegar and his new wife chose to take up residence on Dragonstone instead of the Red Keep, rumors flew thick and fast across the Seven Kingdoms. Some claimed that the crown prince was planning to depose his father and seize the Iron Throne for himself, whilst others said that King Aerys meant to disinherit Rhaegar and name Viserys heir in his place. Nor did the birth of King Aerys's first grandchild, a girl named Rhaenys, born on Dragonstone in 280 AC, do aught to reconcile father and son. When Prince Rhaegar returned to the Red Keep to present his daughter to his own mother and father, Queen Rhaella embraced the babe warmly, but King Aerys refused to touch or hold the child and complained that she "smells Dornish." - TWOIAF

Had any whiff of proof come into their hands to show that Prince Rhaegar was conspiring against his father, King Aerys's loyalists would most certainly have used it to bring about the prince's downfall. Indeed, certain of the king's men had even gone so far as to suggest that Aerys should disinherit his "disloyal" son, and name his younger brother heir to the Iron Throne in his stead. Prince Viserys was but seven years of age, and his eventual ascension would certainly mean a regency, wherein they themselves would rule as regents. - TWOIAF

Birds flew and couriers raced to bear word of the victory at the Ruby Ford. When the news reached the Red Keep, it was said that Aerys cursed the Dornish, certain that Lewyn had betrayed Rhaegar. He sent his pregnant queen, Rhaella, and his younger son and new heir, Viserys, away to Dragonstone, but Princess Elia was forced to remain in King's Landing with Rhaegar's children as a hostage against Dorne. - TWOIAF

The last passage is especially damning. If it was simply that Rhaegar died, his children would be next in line to the throne over his brother, as I have explained. But Viserys is clearly stated as Aerys’ “new heir”, meaning he passed over Aegon and Rhaenys, deposing them to put Viserys as next in line. Before anyone says this can’t be done/ doesn’t count, it does. Henry VIII deposed both Mary and Elizabeth after removing their mothers and it was completely valid/ recognised. It’s why people called them both “bastards” throughout their lives. He also had to undo that decree before he died, meaning they were both able to rule after Edward. If Henry himself hadn’t undone it, they never would have ruled. So, Aegon’s status as disinherited will stand, even if he is really Rhaegar’s son. Aegon now has an army, meaning he can back up his weak claim, but so does Dany. And the army doesn’t mean his claim is better, either.

Dany doesn’t need Dorne for her claim, only for extra support when backing up her very valid claim to the throne. As I have just explained to you, Dany is currently the person with the best claim to the throne who is not currently sitting on it. Besides, she didn’t “fuck up” anything with Quentyn. She accepted him into her court graciously and did all she could to keep his support, foster a relationship with him and Doran/ Dorne by extension, shy of calling of her own engagement which would have meant the deaths of all her people. Everything Quentyn did after that was because he wrongly felt he was letting his father down and was his own mistake entirely. None of it is on her.

In summary, Dany has the best claim and the power to back it up, Aegon (might) have second best claim (though it’s highly unlikely, in fact pretty much impossible as he was disinherited) with slightly less power to back it up and Stannis has one of the worst claims without the power to back it up. Hope you enjoyed your history lesson! Read the books next time and you could avoid embarrassing moments like this 😬🤗

[deathbydarkelves]

I decided to make playlists for Cathala and Tarinne plus explanations for why I chose each song because I entered one of those ADHD fugue states and if I didn't finish this task I would die

Anyway here are the two links (they're youtube playlists because I don't have spotify. I would obviously recommend using an adblocker if you're just gonna watch on youtube) and the explanations for each song are below the cut :) Each playlist is about an hour long.

For Tarinne’s:

1. Foggy Nights: I consider this her theme so putting it first as a sort of intro only makes sense.

2. Here’s a Health to the Company: I think this works as an example of her general disposition. She’s a people person, and always a fan of singing these sorts of songs in taverns, on ships, or what have you. It also kind of feels like a sendoff to soldiers, which I imagine symbolizes her joining the Sentinel Army and quickly thereafter fighting in the Third War.

3. Wartime Prayers: Somewhat self-explanatory, this is symbolizing her seeing war for the first time, but I also included it because the last line transitions SO WELL into the next song.

4. The Hollow: This song is an intro to an album I've never heard so I don't know the context, but I really love it because it sounds like someone praying to their deity and like I mean c'mon. Elune. Tarinne's praying to Elune to guide her through the war. Do I need to elabo-

5. Wave Walker: KILL DEATH MAIM AHAHAHAHA

6. Isil Elun’falo: Just a super rad fan-made night elf song that's basically "wow we sure do love Elune" said in twenty different ways for four and a half minutes. But it ROCKS and I LOVE it.

7. Chewing Cotton Wool: This song is about losing a loved one (I did have to check but yeah that's what it is) and I use it to symbolize Tarinne losing her mom during the war. The last line, which includes the song's title, I especially like. It's referring to how morticians (apparently) put cotton gauze in a corpse's throat and mouth to keep body fluids in and make the face look more natural. So there's a fun fact for you.

8. See U Soon (Song for Dad): Just a short lofi piece to rest a bit, and it was also chosen because the title's in reference to Tarinne growing closer to her dad after losing her mom. She still visits him at his leathers and furs shop in Stormwind fairly often, especially after dangerous adventures. She just wants to make sure he knows she's alright ;-;

9. No Lullaby: Right back into it with a song that I use to represent Tarinne's general feeling of not being able to go home because it's not there anymore. She's felt like this since the end of the Third War, but it's especially strong since the whole Teldrassil thing. But I like the ending, "who said you're on your own," because it contrasts the repeating of "alone" in the rest of the song. And it's kinda like "hey, listen, you're not the only one who feels like she can't go home." I mean that's probably how basically every single night elf feels right now skxnks

10. The Moss: This song juxtaposes classic fairy tales with scientific facts about the world and I love it to BITS. I'm using it here to represent both Tarinne's love for storytelling but also her sort of... part-time historian/archaeologist/conservator career.

11. Rasputin: I just associate this song with her for some reason and this was the best place to put it.

12. Electric Feel: Moving on to focus more on Tarinne's relationship with Cathala now. This is an extremely great and somewhat 😏 song that I also included because the electricity theme is appropriate because Cathala has lightning powers and y'know it's from Tarinne's perspective or whatever.

13. Bedroom Hymns: You know why this is here.

14. Movement: I can't talk about love songs without talking about Hozier, okay. This is just a nice, slower song to relax a bit with.

15. Never Let Me Go: I have an entire goddamn music video in my head with Cathala and Tarinne for this song and it’s very dramatic and emotional and I had to include this song or I’d die. Basically just listen to near the end of this song when she's repeating the title over and over, and imagine the two of them seeing each other at opposite ends of a battlefield after the dust settles and they rush towards each other and fall to their knees holding on as tightly as they can because they got separated early on and each thought the other was dead. Then you'll know how I feel when I listen to this song.

16. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control: First of all I love the title, and second of all there's a big section in the middle (1:49 to 2:47) that I like to interpret as the two of them grappling with the fact that they're not really quite sure who or what they're fighting for anymore. Their people, yeah, but there's so many alliances and semi-permanent enemies and only-on-every-other-thursday-enemies all intertwined and the world is just so very confusing and they're trying to make the best of it. Elf school didn’t include international, interracial politics in its curriculum. It did however include how to properly plant trees, and AP calculus (this is a joke).

17. In Dreams: I like to imagine this song is something the two of them would say to each other, as a way of saying “even when everything we know is gone, even when the world ends, I will still be by your side. And if I’m not, don’t fear, for I will find you.” It makes a nice note to end on :)

For Cathala’s:

1. muse: Just a nice lofi intro to get us into things :) I don't see this song as her theme, like I do with Tarinne and the first song in her playlist, but I like it quite a bit. I don't actually really have a theme for Cathala yet, I'm currently going with a version of Way of the Monk from WoW's OST but I'm still looking for something better.

2. Frogs Singing: I included this because it's about just appreciating nature, which works because night elf and also mindfulness and meditation is a whole thing.

3. Tongues: This is a song about feeling distant from your peers which is like Cathala's whole existence! She's this weird mix of two cultures and ultimately she feels out of place regardless of where she is or who she's with. Also the theme with not understanding what people are saying works because the poor woman had to learn Pandaren from scratch and that shit ain't easy. I think blizz said somewhere probably that Common is just a language that EVERYONE knows inherently because Video Game but that's bullshit in my opinion. I'll allow spells that let you understand foreign languages to an extent (Comprehend Languages from D&D lets you understand the LITERAL meaning only, which I like), but every culture and species in the universe knowing Common is silly if you think about it for more than two seconds.

4. Kung Fu Fighting: I'm legally required to include this song. Also I prefer the Kung Fu Panda version, I'm sorry.

5. Harder Better Faster Stronger: I vicariously experience having a great work ethic through Cathala and that's why this song is here because she has 999 Determination and does Too Many push-ups every day or something idk. I was gonna say "every morning" but I have a headcanon that elves only need to sleep every couple of days (sort of a nod to "elves don't need to sleep at all" from D&D, and to explain why NIGHT elves are active at all hours of the day) so that doesn't work.

6. What's Up Danger: This song is Cathala's whole Vibe. Almost zero threat assessment skills in this woman's brain. If it can be punched, she will punch it.

7. Eye for an Eye: Fairly self-explanatory, it's a song about wanting revenge so... yeah. Checked that box. It was this or The Vengeful One by Disturbed but ultimately The Vengeful One's religious symbolism probably makes it fit better as a Tyrande theme lol ("I'm the hand of god, I'm the dark messiah." Did you mean: the Night Warrior)

8. Survivor: Cathala's survived a lot of shit and this could kinda be her making fun of herself for it because "Gods, man! Don't I deserve a break!"

9. Ashes: Really the reason I include this song is the last chunk (2:42 to the end) because holy shit. Listen, if I was gonna include a song with fire motifs, it was gonna be a somber one like this.

10. Into the West: This can kinda represent Cathala just trying to fucking breathe and recover from Teldrassil. Also works because I dunno it has stuff to do with the elves in LotR, I haven't seen those movies in a while. It sounds nice and is melancholy so I included it.

11. Like Real People Do: Cathala loves Tarinne a lot you guys have I ever menti-

12. Into the Wild: Tarinne changed Cathala's world for the better and she's super fucking grateful she has her by her side. Kinda goes without saying but you know.

13. Chasing the Moon: I have a vague music video in my head for this of them falling in love and it's very cute so there's that. Also it's in this specific spot because hey she may be deeply traumatized but she's still got a fair number of things/people in her life that make her happy so :)

14. Follow My Girl: I've got a theme going in my head that while Tarinne is fairly certain of her place in the world, Cathala is still trying to find hers. She outlived all her connections on Pandaria because Elf Lifespans(tm) and the only members of her family still alive are distant relatives she never knew very well.

15. Wish That You Were Here: This works both to represent Cathala on Pandaria feeling super homesick, and for more recently after Teldrassil. Either way, it's a message to her parents and sister.

16. Mr. Fear: She does her damnedest to hide it but she's absolutely terrified something like Teldrassil's gonna happen again! That fear drives her to do everything in her power to protect who and what she can. As long as they're not Forsaken, cause she's still got her biases, that compassion even extends across faction lines. She never really got the whole Alliance/Horde thing anyway. Innocent people shouldn't have to die, regardless of who or what they are.

17. Ordinary Day: Not to get super out there but I think this song works as symbolizing Cathala really trying to hold on to her faith in Elune, but ultimately feeling pretty abandoned. I mean she can clearly see Elune's influence everywhere. But Elune sure ain't doing Cathala any favors as far as she can tell! It also ends the whole playlist on maybe a bit of an uncertain/open-ended note, because this "losing faith" aspect is a new thing with her and will definitely be something she continues to struggle with for a while. On a related note, I should say Tarinne is still very much devout but she gets what Cathala's feeling and doesn't force anything on her, and vice versa. And Cathala wouldn't become atheist, the night elves aren't monotheistic and she still worships all the other deities, it's just specifically Elune she's a little :/ on.