#I need to create more og projects I think…

[imogenkol]

I was tagged by @lilywatt and @tommyarashikage to make some covers for my original stories with this cool template 💕💕💕 thank you beloveds

tag list (ask to be added or removed!): @socially-awkward-skeleton @neonshrike @inafieldofdaisies @voidika @florbelles @adelaidedrubman @simonxriley @buggknife @aceghosts @carlosoliveiraa @risingsh0t @unholymilf @thedeadthree @cassietrn @jackiesarch @d-esmond @loriane-elmuerto @shellibisshe @katsigian @captastra @simplegenius042 @theelderhazelnut @g0dspeeed @strangefable @kanos @cptcassian @leviiackrman @euryalex @auricfog @nokstella

[urlocal-limitesshbic]

*.˗ˏˋ Use DEILD to enter the void in secondsˎ˗.*

~featuring a lucid dreamer’s unintended success story I found on YouTube~

Incoming Topics..

*PART 1 <RECAP: What is Deild? >*

*PART 2 < The success story >*

*PART 3 < How to use DEILD for the Void >*

*PART I < What is the DEILD method? > *

If you haven’t read my original post on DEILD I have linked it down below towards the end of this one. I recommend checking it out for an in depth tutorial on the method, but I’ll give a quick explanation here as well-

To put it simply, it is a technique that is traditionally used to get fast and easy lucid dreams. Upon waking you lie still and keep your eyes closed, tricking your body into thinking that you never woke up and then within seconds the dream reforms except now you’re aware in it! You can also create a new dream or you might enter a false awakening which becomes a lucid dream. This method works SO QUICKLY it’s seriously like a LD method shortcut!

I’ve heard of lucid dreamers talking about the void before but after watching a YouTubers video about a lucid dream he had, I realized he actually used the DEILD technique to go straight to the void in SECONDS, unintentionally! Which is something I hadn’t thought about doing before-merging the lucid dream technique WITH 👏🏼 THE VOID 👏🏼 TECHNIQUES!! 👏🏼 So for those of you attempting to enter the void state from a lucid dream, this can be used as a SHORTCUT on top of a SHORTCUT! 🙌🏼 Yes ma’ammmm y’all seriously need to come try this one out because when I say SECONDS I’m talking secondsss-no more waiting 20 minutes for your left brain to turn off, no more long breath work exercises or reality checks or hours of lying still, affirming, no more battling with creating portals-the void can be EFFORTLESS and induced in under a minute.

*PART 2 < The lucid dreamer’s success story> *

There’s this lucid dreamer on YouTube called TIGER123 who posts about lucid dreaming techniques and his own lucid dream experiences- he actually has a video tutorial on DEILD as well (which is linked in my OG DEILD post)

So, I was at work looking for something to watch and saw he posted a new video about a lucid dream he had recently. Well, I can tell you wasn’t expecting him to literally open the video by talking about how he woke up from a regular dream, realized it was the perfect opportunity to perform DEILD and get lucid, and then. AS HE’S PERFORMING DEILD. He enters the void! Just like that. While he was in the void he visualized the dream scene he wanted to be in and he said he was there within 10 seconds. Aka he instantly manifested entering the exact lucid dream he wanted to be in, from the void state.

This is someone who doesn’t believe in shifting or astral projection, wasn’t trying to enter the void, thinks the void is just an unformed lucid dream space that can be used to form a new lucid dream, doesn’t know you can manifest from that state and yet STILL got in and STILL manifested. Since he viewed the void as a place he can form a new lucid dream thats what he did. He still manifested instantly, he just MANIFESTED going from the VS to being in a lucid dream. This should just go to show you guys how REAL the void state is, because someone who doesn’t even know about it and wasn’t trying to get in STILL did it. (SO CAN YOU btw)

The void isn’t a concept created on tumblr. Lucid dreamers have experienced it for years, meditators experience it, yogis, followers of Neville Goddard and multiple religious practices do too; It’s just called by different names and defined differently, but all the experiences describe the same thing. So if tumblr success stories aren’t trustworthy enough to you, or motivating enough-expand your research and find hundreds of stories similar to this one-lucid dreamers thinking it’s just an unformed dream and yogis thinking it’s just a really relaxing deep meditative state etc…

*PART 3< How To Use DEILD to enter the VS> *

I linked the video at the bottom, he doesn’t really talk about the void much or deild because the video is about the actual contents of the dream he had, but the part he does talk about it is right at the beginning, the first 30 seconds or so, if you’re curious in checking it out but this is pretty much what he said about it, written out-

“First I was in a space dream and then I woke up and kind of realized I had just woken up from a dream and was able to stay still and kind of reenter into it and fall back asleep and I ended up in the void. You know that like complete blackness where it’s really easy to reform the dream and since I was there I figured I would just try to go to the beach because when I’m in this void state I can really go anywhere I want. I just reformed the beach and I ended up on the exact beach I was imagining in like 10 seconds.”

So boom. Thats’s it thats ALL. That simple. So here’s the exact steps to do if you want to enter the void through DEILD too and be the next success story:

Before bed: affirm “I will remember to stay still upon awakening. I will effortlessly enter the void using DEILD” or some variation of this (optional)

Visualize yourself waking up, staying still, and entering the void state (optional)

Go to sleep, with the calm certainty that this will work.

Wake up. Keep your eyes closed and lie still

You can keep a blank mind and wait, trusting that your subconscious will induce the void automatically, since you already set the intention the night before

5a. Or right after waking, with your eyes closed you can begin affirming that you are pure consciousnes and imagine yourself already in the void, or imagine yourself sinking gently down into the void state until you are truly there. This method is so effective you should be in the state within a minute or less.

And remember, the void state can’t be forced, just like sleep can’t be forced. All you can do is create the right conditions for it to occur naturally. It’s okay if you don’t get it right away. Focus on trust, not control. Avoid over analyzing whether it’s working while you’re performing the technique, just allow it to flow and happen. You saw he just literally lied still waiting for the dream to form and then he was in. It’s that effortless. Give it a go and report back in the comments 🫶🏼 Happy enteringgg

[divinit3a]

For the ask game 💕

💕 Time for a shout-out! What are some of your fav AUs from other creators in the fandom? ⭑ dca au ask game

^-^ ....OK! I shall set down all the cakes on the table for a full buffet! Get your forks & knives out! 🍽️🍽️🍽️

please don't hesitate to let me know if you'd prefer not to be @'d in the future, or to be removed from this post u_u <3 I totally respect folk's preferences!

✨ lets go! ⭑⭑⭑ ⭑⭑⭑ ⭑⭑⭑

@muzzlemouths Dead Mall Dare / DfTR AU(s) Dead Mall Dare was one of the first AUs I read (like, literally. 1-2 months ago!) & I went woooaaah they are fun removed from original context. Isn't that so neat ?? This isn't a rabbithole to fall in, tho. u_u No wayyy guys c'mon ... /j Likewise, DfTR is a treat to watch unfold & see people squirm ^-^

@r0b0-wannabe Botanical Garden AU (or just any of your stories, but I'm.. sticking to the law...s... ) Hi, I stayed up to 2-3am drawing ur boys bc Im normal about this AU & how endearing it is... obviously... (💚) I love your writing style & characterizations. Maybe this is silly, but, I also enjoy learning about plantcare, too :3

@sinister-sincerely 2nd Choice AU Oh, you are so evil. The username matches. (A COMPLIMENT!! Hehe.) Oh, you write drama, angst/no comfort, hurting/damaged characters making awful choices so well. It was wild doing a double-take to realize YOU! are the WRITER for 2nd choice!! Some day, I will get u. For now, run 💜🔪

@wyervan Human!Slasher AU :D Yay! Both the OG/Main storyline are wonderful. I find the community version very endearing as an AU-within-an-AU. (love that!) As someone who used to run RP groups (on god!) it fills my heart with joy to see people filling out a world with so much life. Your art style is delightfully grungy ^-^/

@pluck-heartstrings - Pluck My Heartstrings AU Ohhh. I am weak to fairytale/renfaire vibes, as well as the more classic harlequin jester aesthetic u_u<3 Plus, the Vocalist/Princess is just so dang compelling, too. Your design sense is impeccable.

@moon-buggg Haunted House & Mad Scientist AUs They are both so neat & I can't wait to learn more!! The Haunted House AU designs live in my head rent free along with the comics :3

@zenkaiankoku Broken but Better AU Lovely, torn-up designs! Yay, mechanical horror! Yay, angst!! And a delightful remix of their personalities, too <3

@authormeat Alienware AU ^-^ I am instantly delighted by the weird guy freak energy & that the yn IS an alien/monster. Thats all I want & more. I also love ur designs for other AUs

...

...

...... 🧍 I Have More to Say

And...And... Not.. AU specific, but 🏏💥BAM , BAM 💥🏏 LOVELY FOLKS!!!!!!

🍲 <{ @soupdweller THERE IS NO ESCAPE ok but fr.. I appreciate ya, homie :3 you are a joy to chat with!! beautiful art!! evil mind!! delicious soups. i cant wait for whatever u cook up ^-^ 🐤 <{ @luckyyyduckyyy I WILL READ UR AU STORIES!! RUN & HIDE!!! you are the goofiest goober in the wild west, by goodness. i love ur energy and the gorgeous designs u create!! 🐛 <{ @chickenchirps27 ACK I COULD STARE AT UR ART FOREVER! I'll have to start volleying over illustrators I think ya might enjoy... u are so sweet & funny!! 🐐 <{ @lurking-loaf YOU ARE SO KIND! Seriously, I appreciate the fun craft projects you recommended -& your words of support :') 🔮 <{ @anis-sketches :D HI! Happy to throw recs your way. Also, your art is adorable!! 🌿 <{ @craykaycee HI TO U TOO!! the tags u leave always make me smile, and i appreciate u stopping by to say hi... :3 & MANYMANY MORE BUT I NEED TO CUT MYSELF OFF OR ELSE

Per usual, I lost sight of the original goal. But! Consider:

🏏💥WHAM , BAM 💥🏏 GOTCHU >:)

[sacredhyacinth]

I couldn’t resist making this meme (and while making this I realized how closely David and short-haired Gabriel look together)

2. Deathmoth sighting before it was canon

3. Despite this sentiment being based off of one drawing, I feel like either Ariana or Kim would spred rumors that the father of Maryi and Amenia was Oliver. (Ariana to mess with Oliver and Kim to mess with David)

Also Aora’s old design looks like a mixture of twilight sparkle and her hair looks like one of those Pokémon aliens. 4. I think I accidentally made Edmund hate Dahlia 😬

Aaaand his feelings about the mist dimension (it’s kinda funny because he originally came from my idea of him being the dad but now he’s just in the regular BM world):

I am done with the general overview of Edmund’s life but not with his diary entries nor the art I want to include in the overview. I realize I’m treating this like a creative project. I’ve created like 3 Spotify playlists for Edmund so far (the only important ones are the full Edmund playlist & the one about his relationship with Mira that’s not public yet because it’s still in the works) I think and I feel like I should just be focusing on the diary entries right now.

BRO 😭 im trying to redesign Gabriel so he doesn’t look like david since people keep confusing them i need to make him BALD

ALSO funny thing Ariana and Oliver in the original og beta gacha version of Black Magic—were supposed to be this one sided crush by Ariana, kinda like Heath and Maida—their relationship has basically been around since the beginning of bm, though it’s more childish rivalry now. I think Ariana would love Kim and was a lot nicer to her (mostly because she looked like her mom) but disproved of how she treated the temple/David. I like to think she was an old mentor for Kim before stepping down because she drove her crazy 😭

ALSO EDMUND MY SHAYLA

he’s better than me I would’ve crashed out if my mermaid situationship got married to a burnt out history teacher 💔

[windvexer]

Hey Chicken! I'd like your help with getting some perspective

There's a prosperity candle working I made and did once that worked decently well the first time I did it, but then because the outcome it brought was small in scale (it brought in a work project that brought a small amount of money, once-off), I set about tweaking it so that the spell outcomes would be bigger (ergo, more money, more regularly)

Problem is, the tweaked versions simply did not hit at all.

For additional context, the OG working was pretty simple (speaking directly to the herbs and working them) and the later versions involved planetary invocations and specific instructions and milestones for the working (e.g. Invoking planetary energies and angels, and specifically saying working must bring at least $xyz per month via business income, and xyz number of new clients)

My question is: can it happen that a working just fails because the working itself is only able to accommodate simple outcomes, and that if I want more detailed/complex outcomes I gotta completely rework it entirely to accommodate that complexity?

Or is it a matter of "more complexity, more energy and better working/ritual programming for the spell is required"?

I don't think I could really hazard a guess but these would be my first thoughts:

Planets are maybe not the most out-of-the-box power you could work with, in that how well planetary powers works for any individual can vary quite a bit. And to integrate/harness that power might require things like planetary initiations (which to me are somewhat like formal introductions, request for tutelage, etc).

In my practice, talking to an herb and asking it for help is very unlike a formal evocation of a planetary power. One lives in the ground and the other lives in the sky. That's like, two separate directions.

It sounds like you're still doing a candle spell, but instead of working with a plant ally you switched to planetary evocations, which to me would constitute an entirely different spell (of course, it depends on how you slice it).

Invoking something bigger and badder isn't necessarily an avenue of power. Consider that as the practitioner you're the bottleneck: if your skill level caps out at being able to raise and direct, say, 100 units of power, it doesn't matter if you switch from a plant willing to provide 1500 units of power or a planet that could provide 15,000 units of power.

Another level of difficulty in working with planetary powers is drawing them into spellcasting space; we can bring a bit of plant matter in no problem, but to effectively work with planetary powers a person might need not only proper timing but also perhaps talismans or other avenues of connection.

If I were in your shoes I'd consider these avenues of troubleshooting:

Examining if prerequisite skills are up to the task of raising and controlling much greater amounts of energy

Whether or not you were doing things when working with the herb that you stopped doing when you brought in the planets (like, maybe going deeper into magical headspace and focusing on the power of your words, whereas with the planets you just read hymns off a sheet and weren't dwelling with your power)

Returning to the original format of the spell and experiment with supercharging or other methods to attempt to obtain desired goals

Switching spell formats to something more long-lasting (in my paradigm, candle spells really just don't create ongoing cyclical effects like the kind you seem to want; I'd be more inclined to try something like a spell jar)

Examining your natal chart to see if the planets you're calling on are particularly poorly appointed for you

Researching planetary magic to ensure you're actually calling the correct planet for your purposes

Examining planetary invocation techniques and investigating whether or not you'd be served by additional magical techniques (planetary initiations, establishing formal working relationships, etc)

Switching spell formats: keep what works (speaking over the herb) and bring the planet in as a supporting power to open roads and provide energy, and see if that has any impact on your spell at all.

Calling those same planetary powers for other situations to see if they way you're working with them has any effect at all.

Trying to obtain a deeper working relationship with the plant ally and learning from it how to obtain the results you desire

[alien-girl-21]

The Käärijä Research Paper (tm)

aka: Error Analysis of the Use of English Articles in Jere Pöyhönen Interviews in 2023

(Before we start, a couple of clarifications: firstly, I am a linguistics student and this research was my final project for my psycholinguistics course, secondly, this was a group research and I have gotten permission from my friends to share these results with y'all so tysm to them, and lastly, the og work is LONG, 50 pages long, so I'm condensing it into the important bits)

Findings and explanations under the cut <3

Before sharing the actual research, i'm going to share some important terms for you guys to understand the overall layout of this work.

Error analysis: kind of self explanatory, it's the process of analyzing errors, specifically in one's speech, more on how we did this later.

Omission: The alienation of a linguistic form in speech (i.e. I go to (the) supermarket.).

Addition: The opposite of omission, putting an unnecessary linguistic form in a sentence (i.e. It's the maybe half and half.).

Substitution: Exchanging a linguistic form for another one (i.e. He admitted to have stolen a wallet. Instead of: He admitted to having stolen a wallet.).

Overgeneralization: Looking at a grammatical rule and thinking it applies to every case with no exceptions (i.e. finding out verbs conjugated in the past end in -ed and creating conjugations like writted instead of written). Also known as intralingual transfer.

Negative transfer: When your mother tongue (L1) seeps into your second/foreign language (L2) (in this case it's foreign language, but I'll still call it an L2 for simplicity's sake), if we're talking about Spanish negative transfer it can look like: the car red (Spanish adjectives go after the noun, unlike in English). Also known as interlingual transfer.

Local error: An error that does not affect the overall meaning of the sentence, making it still understandable.

Global error: An error that affects the overall meaning of the sentence, making it difficult to understand without clarifications.

Okay, with that out of the way, let me explain what we did:

We decided to make an error analysis on how Jere utilized articles (the, a/an) throughout 2023, for this we considered 2 interviews and 1 Instagram live, the interviews were: KÄÄRIJÄ TRIES LITHUANIAN FOOD (uploaded on 12/04/23) and Episode 3: Käärijä and friends (uploaded on 26/12/23), the ig live was the one he did to promote the release of Huhhahhei on 19/10/23, the dates are important for later.

Now, to do the error analysis in itself we followed Rod Ellis’ proposal for error analysis which follows four main steps:

Identifying errors: Self-explanatory, you see what errors one has committed.

Describing errors: Once you see the errors, you describe what exactly the error is, it can be with grammatical categories, or with omission, misinformation, addition, misordering, and substitution.

Explaining errors: After describing the error you need to explain why this error was committed, the two main ways are through overgeneralization and negative transfer.

Error evaluation: After all this, you identify how the error affected the overall message of the sentence being spoken, was it local or global?

We put these steps into a chart and listened to the interviews and identified the errors we found, it’s a really long chart, so if you want to see it fully you can find it here (hopefully). After identifying all the errors and doing our own error analysis we… well, analyzed the data, duh, according to the objectives we set up for the research.

Our first objective was to identify errors Jere has committed regarding articles in the three videos I mentioned. What we analyzed was more grammatical, so what grammatical structure he used the most. He usually omits an article before a noun and with adjectives, like in: “We go to bar with my producer…”, or “Käärijä goes to boat.”, or “I am fine, uh… little bit tired.”. Obviously, this is kind of expected because Finnish does not have articles, but he also adds articles when it is not necessary, like in: “I have the one festival.” Here are the charts of the grammatical trends:

Then we focused on the describing errors part of our analysis. In this part, we found out that he usually finds himself committing omission errors, with 67 in total across the three videos, like I said before, expected, however, the second most common error is addition, this means he adds an unnecessary article in a sentence, and what’s interesting is that he usually does it with the article “the”. Since this is not an actual academic article I will speculate with a full chest: I think he does this because people are usually taught that “the” is the only article in English (only definite one, but not the only one), and that nouns usually have an article accompanying them, so I think that he adds the when he is unsure if an article needs to go there or not. Finally, there was only one case of substitution: “This is the lovely story.”, not really sure why he did this, but it’s interesting that it only happened once. Have the charts and graphs:

We moved to the next step: explaining errors. When we started this research, we thought that we would only have negative transfers since, ya know, Finnish grammar and all, and we were kind of right? He has committed negative transfer errors the most, with 66 in total, but he also had 23 overgeneralization errors, which I didn’t really expect to happen with articles that much. Not much else to say here, have charts:

Lastly, error evaluation. He made mostly local errors, which is what mainly characterizes his speech, we know what he’s saying, he just usually lacks some grammatical form that doesn’t affect his overall meaning. He did have 15 global errors that unless you have the context, it can be a little confusing to understand what he’s trying to say (like in the ig live he said “here tour” when he wanted to say “here in the tour”). Charts!

Our final objective was to see the evolution of these errors, has he made more or less as time went on? Well, since we all can see and hear, he has made a great improvement! You already have the charts above to understand that, but I just have to explain it. In the first interview, in April, he made 50 mistakes in total, by the ig live he had cut those in half, and by the latest interview he gave in English he had cut the mistakes in half again! Have the graphs to accurately see this:

He has improved so much in such a short amount of time! Even more impressive when he hasn’t really taken any formal English classes, just by talking to Bojan and Alessandra. There’s a difference between language learning and language acquisition that was proposed by Stephen Krashen (cool dude, if you’re interested in language learning, go check him out). He says that people usually learn more by acquiring (unconscious) rather than learning (conscious), and you can see that Jere has learnt so much by acquiring English through his friends and his own experiences! And this is just looking at how he uses articles, there is also a distinctive change in how he uses other grammatical forms (but that was too much work for just 2 weeks, maybe I’ll do it later, no promises on anything, though). Even if we’re not talking about his grammatical and syntactical forms, his pronunciation has improved as well! My friends were fascinated by how his accent seemed to develop from video to video, which was very sweet because his accent is one of my favorite things about his speech, but that’s off topic.

The general takeaway from this research is: Jere still has a lot of Finnish tendencies in his English, he has developed his own grammatical structures to communicate in English, and how much he improved in an 8-month period is kind of insane, especially for an adult (who are the age group who have the most trouble learning languages). He’s the it-girl of blowing off a linguist’s mind (me, I’m the linguist)

That would be all!! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I'm more than glad to answer them

[cristaq]

This is part of my apology tour for all the angsty stuff I’ve written recently. So I give you og pricesoap retired and living a happy life. This is a longer one, close to 1.5k words but I think these two idiots are worth it. Small exerpt below!

Price opens his mouth to say something but a nasty cough stops him. Years of smoking are catching up with his lungs. The pain in his joints caused by the cold starts to become unbearable, so he rubs his hands together. Against his better judgement, Soap grabs Price’s hands and removes their gloves. He rubs both of their hands, blowing hot air over them. He leaves small kisses on Price’s knuckles, as an apology for spoiling him. Price hates feeling old and in need of help, but this time he is in a good mood.

If you dare, dear traveler, to cross the Antonine Wall and head up north towards Scotia’s Highlands, just a couple of miles away from Inverness, you will find a small village that seems undisturbed by the war’s fallout. Twenty years have passed since the end of WW3, yet you can still hear metal screeching in Western Europe, as the French are rebuilding their Eiffel Tower and capital. But here? Peace and serenity dominate the land, enshrouded by its protective mist.

But that doesn’t mean the Highlands are not witnessing an improvement project of their own. Soap opens the door of their cottage and faces the windy weather with a smile. He grew up with this kind of weather afterall. Over his shoulder rests a pretty heavy sack, but the veteran has no issue balancing its weight. It’s much lighter than combat equipment anyways.

He heads towards the open and deserted fields, not thinking about much. There was a time when all he did was worry, plot and think. Not anymore. He whistles though, some random tune. These lands used to be covered with trees until the English thought about making warships out of them, some hundred years ago. What ensued was one of the biggest deforestation projects, leaving Scotland with a bald spot where once the great Caledonian forest used to be. Such a pity.

Soap drops the sack on the ground when he feels satisfied with the integrity of the soil he is walking on. He falls to his knees with a wince and opens his care package. Inside, there are Scots Pine seeds, collected from cones a week ago. He puts on his gardening gloves and digs a small hole in the ground and places some of the seeds inside with care and covers them back with dirt. Then he moves a couple of metres away and repeats the process. It might not look like much, but there are already small saplings bursting out of the ground all over the surrounding hills. All Soap and his husband’s doing.

An hour later, a loud whistle breaks the silence of the place and it makes Soap turn his head from his kneeling position. He smiles towards the man with a boonie hat approaching him and waves. 

“Mind giving me a hand you lazy bawbag?”

Once Price gets close enough he shoves Soap’s shoulder. “You didn’t wake me up!”

“Aye, I didn't want to disturb your afternoon nap. Now, did you come here to help or to just chat?”

Price scoffs and tries to kneel as well, placing his hands on the ground for support. His knees and back complain with a loud pop but he doesn’t say a word. His joints are not what they used to be, but Soap doesn’t make any move to help. He knows Price would throw a tantrum.

Once settled, he puts on his own set of gloves and helps Soap dig the next hole. They keep going at it for some time in silence and whenever they try to cover the exposed seeds, their hands keep touching. A small moment of casual affection, hindered a bit by the gloves that stand in the way of skin contact.

“Sometimes I can’t believe this is actually making a difference. But seeing all these saplings… I am glad we are doing this. For the first time I feel like we are building or creating something rather than destroying,” Price says at some point.

“We’ve built so much more here. The two of us.”

Price opens his mouth to say something but a nasty cough stops him. Years of smoking are catching up with his lungs. The pain in his joints caused by the cold starts to become unbearable, so he rubs his hands together. Against his better judgement, Soap grabs Price’s hands and removes their gloves. He rubs both of their hands, blowing hot air over them. He leaves small kisses on Price’s knuckles, as an apology for spoiling him. Price hates feeling old and in need of help, but this time he is in a good mood.

“Better?”

Price just nods and rests his forehead on his lover’s.

“Let’s head back. We should have dinner anyway.”

Soap tries to rise from the ground and now it’s his turn to show how old age and wounds hold him back. He did fall off a building and almost got blown up to bits after all. Price does his best to get up first and offers a hand to the struggling man. He accepts it.

“Everything alright, love?”

“Yeah, just a sharp pain in my side. I will live.”

Price gently strokes the place and pulls Soap in an embrace. They hold this pose for a while, taking in the scenery over each other’s shoulder.

“Better?” the older man asks. Soap just nods in response.

They head back towards their cottage hand in hand, talking about politics and weather. They still haven’t decided who to vote for in Scotland’s next parliamentary election but at least the government plans on rising military pensions regardless. They speak about the upcoming veteran day and their yearly trip around the world to visit the resting places of their comrade-in-arms. Gaz, Ghost, Roach, Yuri, the Delta Force… They’ve never skipped this tradition. Their sacrifices are the ones that secured this happy future.

Back in the comfort of their home, Price heats up two portions of Haggis, cooked by himself actually. After all these years, he got better than Soap at cooking Scottish dishes. He takes a bite out of both portions, checking to see if the food is too hot. Finally satisfied, he places one of the plates in front of Soap and a kiss on his forehead. He mutters a thank you but the TV has his full attention. Glasgow FC is playing tonight and even though Price never cared much for football he tried his best to pick up some lingo.

He digs into the food right away, but as he brings a full spoon to his mouth he gets startled by a loud scream.

“GOAAAAAAAAL” Soap slams his fists on the table and gets up to do some laps around the kitchen table, as Glasgow’s team scores a point. Price grabs a cloth off the table and throws it at the man.

“Are you fucking mad?! Almost gave me a cardiac!” 

“This means they are qualifying for sure!” He smashes his lips to his husband’s. “Fuck yes! Haha! We will have to start hunting for tickets for their games!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Price loves seeing his Scot like this, all jittery and full of life.

“Smile, old man! After the match you might get to score too.” He winks. “I am feeling good today.”

Price’s tone shifts to a serious one. “When does it fucking end?”

“Well it’s minute 35.”

Price grabs his partners cheeks, squeezing them together. “Don’t get smart with me, muppet! How much time?”

“An hour, give or take!”

In the bedroom after the match, they basically tear each other apart with their mouths, hungry and needy. Soap palms Price’s groin but no matter how hard he tries he can’t seem to get it hard.

“Sorry, it just needs a minute…” Due to his age, Price struggles with erection problems. He learnt to deal with the shame that comes with it, with the help of his patient partner.

“No worries, love. Take all the time you need…”

15 minutes later Price lets out a frustrated sigh. “Fuck’s sake!” He puts some space between them and looks at the ground, cheeks flushed from embarrassment. Soap wastes no time in going to their nightstand and picking up a blue pill, placing it between his teeth.

The older man laughs at the gesture. “I really wish there was no need for that.”

Soap answers with a deep kiss, using his tongue to push the pill inside his husband’s mouth.

“I will bring you some water. Think of something to do while we wait for the pill to do its thing, aye?”

When the Scot returns, a chair has been moved to the middle of the bedroom and Price, buttnaked, taps the backseat with a sly smile.

“Saddle up. Let me take care of you.”

“Like old times?” Soap grins and moves towards the chair, slowly stripping his remaining clothes.

“Are you calling us old?” He downs the glass of water.

“Sorry, I meant ancient times.”

“Someone is a fucking brat today.”

“Learnt from the best!”

They keep the banter going as Price restrains Soap’s wrists behind his back, followed by his legs. Face to face now, he cups his cheeks.

“Everything alright?”

“Mhm… I love you, John.”

“I love you too, John.”

They snicker and seal their declaration of unconditional love with a kiss… for the millionth time.

[finisnihil]

Watching the general populous of Webtoon hate Rashta from The Remarried Empress so violently, to the point of making her ridculing nickname a synonym for The Other Woman archetype, is really exhausting for a number of reasons, with the main one being that there are numerous female main leads of similar stories that fit that characterization of her more.

I love The Remarried Empress but the readers love to blame Rashta for EVERYTHING that happens in it, when at the end of the day, Rashta is just an antagonist. I know! Shocking! Rashta is not the driving force of the story! You know who is? SOVIESHU.

Sovieshu has always been the main villain. He is the one with all the power, he is the one who created a situation that pit these women against each other. Rashta was a slave because her father was a criminal, being Soveishu's mistress was a means of survival. Like, of course she sucks ass at scheming! She never had an education, and Sovieshu stalled on giving her one because he was ATTRACTED TO HER CHILDISH DEMEANOR. Soveishu liked Rashta because she was what Soveishu wanted from Navier and she sucked up to him in the ways he wanted! Because she needed to in order to survive! Her mistake was becoming paranoid, arrogant, and cruel to continuously provoke Navier, but that was also at the urging of another man: Duke Ergi! Because Rashta is uneducated and vulnerable and she thinks he's her only support system! She went through the trouble of ousting Navier at Ergi's suggestion and Soveishu began to just use Rashta as a baby factory, because as Rashta became like Navier to survive the political world and as he realized he lost Navier, he stopped caring about her. He never saw her as a human, he only saw her as a slate to project on the child version of Navier he was still in love with.

Now, i'm not gonna deny the heinous shit Rashta has done nor am I defending it, she is the antagonist, she does do cruel things that can't be excused, and that's factual. But the tragedy of her is that she was set up to fail by every single man in her life. She started seeing the women around her as competition because of those men. She never once had power and her frustration at her powerlessness and her disillusionment is valid. Navier was protected by her status as a noble, but Rashta had nothing and watching her crash and burn is satisfying but also sad. In another comic, she would be the female lead, and she would be safe and happy, she would be loved. To see the fandom boil her down to some man stealing bitch is really sad because it takes all the focus from Sovieshu. Instead of ripping him apart for using a system to abuse the women in his life, everyone rips apart Rashta for lashing out as a victim of that system.

You know who fits this dynamic more though? Diana from For My Derelict Favorite. Diana is a saintess with healing powers who was mistreated for being a commoner and married the Crown Prince. Hestia, the protagonist, targets her for revenge for a numerous amount of reasons, but what makes their conflict interesting is that Hestia is her equal. They were both commoners, they both are beloved by the world's god, they both rose in their station. The difference is that Diana is everything Rastha is percieved as. She still acts like a victim of the class system, despite the fact she's the crown princess and now has power and luxury. She looks down on the other nobles for their spending and ridicule of the lower class, yet doesn't realize she's become just like them. She casts aside Caelus for killing the novel's OG villains to save the empire, but has no problem acting like nothings wrong despite her treatment driving him to try and take his own life. She thinks herself objectively right and special and the minute anyone criticizes her, she turns on them, her husband included. She makes it a goal to steal Caelus from Hestia in order to hurt her and validate her behavior, thinking Caelus still loves her over Hestia. When Hestia makes soap accessible for the common people and makes advancments in changing the nobility's views of the lower class, Diana nitpicks her for it, because she can't stand to see Hestia take the limelight. She uses her power and privilege to bully and abuse others and then runs crying when she's called out on it.

The difference between these stories is clear. Rashta has no power and isn't the main villain, she doesn't have equal standing as Navier. She does a lot of her actions out of desperation for love and to survive while still being cruel. Diana and Hestia come from equal status; Diana is the one in the most power. She abuses the systems meant to mistreat those like her for her own benefit and nothing more. Helios is the antagonist while Diana is the villain, because it is Diana's actions that push the plot, akin to Soveishu. Helios and Rashta make things difficult, but they're really only along for the ride, and their interference in the plot happens because of the villains their characters serve.

[mercurytrinemoon]

Venus cycle: conjunctions with the Sun, its retrogrades and how it all works

Because Venus just stationed retrograde so here's all you need to know 💖

One of the best aspects one can have in a natal chart is probably Venus conjunct the Sun. There is one catch though - the orb of that conjunction has to be smaller than 1 degree (or, even better, 0°17' - this is the orb I personally give), otherwise Venus is said to be combust. Now, combust planets aren't necessarily all bad, but being so close to Sun makes them operate in a shadow or, how I like to call it, on a backstage. Venus being overshadowed by the big hot luminary will still be full of charm, allure and talent but it may feel like it's not being recognized. Alternatively, those talents can be used on a literal backstage, for example, when working with or for other people who present themselves on stage - literally or figuratively.

But what if Venus is extremely close to Sun, within that small orb? Well we call it cazimi - which means in the heart of the Sun. It gives Venus bonification but also carries the energy of a reset of some sorts because it marks the beginning of a Venus cycle - people born on a conjunction have the ability to start projects, constantly reinvent themelves. They're often also trailblazers.

How often does a Venus cazimi occur? About once a year BUT - and that's an important part - they're conjunct in the same sign every 4 years, alternately when Venus is direct (exterior/superior conjunction) and retrograde (inferior conjunction). So, this year cazimi will happen when retrograde in Aries, 4 years ago happened when direct and 8 years ago when retrograde again. So 8 years is Venus' synodic cycle - this is how it takes for her to be in the same position in regards to Sun. Her cycle is nearly perfect and you've probably heard that if we were to connect the points of cazimi on a chart with lines, it would create a star (it's also often called the rose of Venus). And because of that perfect nature of the cycle, conjunctions in the same sign happen almost at the same degree each time, just being roughly two days shy of and exact cycle. And because of that, it slowly moves backwards. So, for example, the Sun-Venus exterior conjunction in Aries happened on March 31st 2005 (10°31’), then March 28th 2013 (8°10’) and March 26th 2021 (5°50’)… and so on.

RETROGRADE: GOOD OR BAD?

It is stereotypically said that Venus retrograde is not a favorable time. I'd say yes and no. During the retograde, Venus goes into the underworld, goes through a rebirth and comes back as a feisty warrior-like morning star (just like in the myth of Inanna, who was the sumerian og incarnation of a goddess of love). This means Venus changes her point of view and becomes indeed more feisty, demanding and sometimes scandalous. A few Venus retrograde examples? Amy Winehouse, who had a very specific, recognizable image and a distinct musical talent that couldn't be replicated - you hear Amy, you instantly know it's her. She had a darker vibe, very in the style of Venus retrograde. She also battled mental health issues and addiction. Mariah Carey is a more optimistic example (again, talent like no other) although for years media coined her as a diva (in a pejorative way) and as a child she suffered discrimination from peers (that's the element of retrograde-y banishment). Actresses like Charlize Theron or Jodie Foster carried their retrograde-y character through movie roles they were choosing (Atomic blonde, Mad Max, Monster, The silence of the lambs or The Accused all have the essence of an underground Venus). Jack Nicholson is another one who embodies that theme in a lot of the movie roles he picks (One flew over the cuckoo's nest, The shining, The witches of eastwick), he also has a very distinct charm to him, despite not being conventionally attractive. Interestingly, since Venus rules women in one's chart, he grew up thinking his mother was his sister and his grandmother - his mother. Very retrograde-y.

So, Venus retrograde doesn't have to be bad. And we'll talk about it in a second when we look at Dua Lipa.

VENUS AS A CLOCK

For me though, what's important is, that people born during the retrograde or close to the superior conjunction, are somewhat branded with Venus' synodic cycle. It's like they carry a meter, a clock that's counting down to important events in their life. And I think this is one of the most powerful ways astrology shows how predestined our lives are. There's an amazing episode of The Astrology Podcast (watch HERE) where they look at lives of "time twins" Hitler and Chaplin and every. single. breakthrough they had in their lives happened during the Venus retrograde in Aries (they were both born during retrograde in that sign). Heck, Hitler even died during one. Now tell me it wasn't literally written (and set in stone) in the stars?

DUA LIPA AND THE POWER OF THE RETROGRADE

Dua was born exactly on a Venus cazimi in Leo. What's more, that conjunction is right on top of Regulus, a fixed star that symbolizes royalty, succes and wealth. Sure, Dua's popularity doesn't match the one of Billie Eilish or Taylor Swift but she slowly but surely gained a pretty decent popularity worldwide - and that is rare for a British-based artist. Her Venus cazimi lays in her 3rd house of thought and adds themes of her Venus-ruled 5th house of creativity.

And, you guessed it, Dua does operate under Venus cycles. She was born during a superior conjunction, so while Venus was direct, somehow she's more influenced by retrogrades. Her first single was released during Venus retrograde in Leo in August of 2015, which clearly brough her luck. During the retrograde in the same sign in 2023 she took a pretty huge part in the Barbie film (a very Venus retrograde-y movie as well). After the release and after retrograde was over, Dua hit a reset (literally as she wiped her whole instagram) and started promoting her next album - and that is the reset I was talking about in the beginning. It's constant reinvention. During that time she also announced that her real ascendant lays in Gemini as opposed to Libra, which is a funny cherry on top.

She also seems to react to other retrogrades as well. During one in Capricorn a few year ago she released her newsletter and then podcast Servce95, which seems to be pretty popular to this day.

See??? Starting things during the retrograde doesn't have to be bad!

Similar example? Ella Fitzgeralt was also born with Venus cazimi in her chart. She was a Leo rising and the conjunction fell into her 10th house in Taurus - a sign ruled by Venus. She was destined to be on stage and to become a music icon - Taurus is known for beautiful voice and grace so this is a perfect representation of a cazimi in that sign.

Her life was also directed by Venus cycles. Her debut stage performance took place one day after Venus conjoined with the Sun in Scorpio in 1934. She had heart surgery in 1986 right before the retrograde. Then in 1991, also before the retrograde, she performed on stage for the last time in her life. Ella eventually passed away just a few days after the cazimi in Gemini in 1996.

So, we see some of her important life events coincided with Venus going retrograde or conjoining the Sun… although in her case, it all took place in signs other than Taurus, interestingly.

DIFFERENT SIDES OF VENUS CAZIMI AND IT'S COMBUSTION

Okay but timing aside… let's look at a couple of other examples of people being born with Venus in the heart of the Sun and see how it affected their lives.

Gordon Ramsey! This is one of my favorite examples of a Venus cazimi because it's not stereotypically obvious. Gordon wasn't necessarily endowed with beauty and charm but let's not forget that Venus rules food, pleasure and taste! His natal conjunction falls in… Scorpio. This is probably where his prickly nature comes from. Venus is also presence and he became one of the most recognizeable and charismatic tv personalities of the recent decades.

Princess of Monaco, Charlene, was also born with Venus cazimi that landed on her MC. Her ascendant is in Taurus so Venus exalted her as a person and literally put her on a royal throne through marriage with Prince Albert. Sun rules her 4th house of family so that brings in the family aspect to the mix. Unfortunately, Venus cazimi doesn't have to mean luck in love. She has other stuff in her chart that indicate pain and struggles, like her Moon being besieged by Mars and Saturn. She was labelled as the saddest bride in history as she got married after news broke that her soon-to-be husband was having affairs left and right (she tried to escape the country 3 times, allegedly and cried during their wedding). She's with his ugly ass to this day. What's important to note is that her Venus is still in the same degree as the Sun although it passed the 0°17' mark - does Venus really get combust at that point and is this also the reason for her partner's hidden secrets?

Interestingly, her time twin is Ukraine's president Zelenskyy - they were born on the same day (!!!) and have ascendants in neighbouring signs (he's a Gemini rising). It's safe to say they have a similar experience as being the face of politics (it's the Sun's throne but also Venus rules diplomacy and riches). Additionally, Zelenskyy used to be an actor - another venusian career. And just like Charlene, depending on the school of thought, his Venus is already combust and there are themes of suspected hidden "backstage" activity he was accused for for a few years now. Could that be a combust Venus' doings as well? What's certain though is that the conjunction did endow him with likeability and composure either way.

OK BUT WHAT ABOUT ROMANCE?

I know you're all asking: but what about love? It is commonly said that number one rule during a Venus retrograde is to stay away from new relationships as they may end quicker than they started (or, quicker than Venus goes direct again that is). Honestly? I'd say no to that and although it may be that people from the past may come back during that period for a brief fling, if you find someone new during the retrograde and you feel there's substance to it, that might be your long-term destiny indeed. Just like we've seen with Dua and Ella, starting something on a retrograde may actually produce good results. Do keep in mind though that you may be putting a timer on that relationship. Also, the relationship may be a bit frowned upon so take that into consideration.

To top it all off, you know who got together during Venus retrograde? Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Their romance started in 2004 when our lovely benefic was retrograde in Gemini (fitting as Angelina is a Gemini while Brad is the sister sign - Sagittarius). Brad was still with Jennifer Aniston so that was scandalous indeed. But that didn't stop them and they quickly became the it couple everyone was swooning over. 4 years later their twins were born (right after the retrograde). 4 more years later - they got engaged (right before the retrograde). Another 4? Angelina filed for divorce. And this is how two whole Venus synodic cycles later Brangelina ceased to exist. That's some impressive astrology right there.

[natinkart]

✨️FEM MERCS HEADCANONS✨️ pt 3 SUPPORT

those would be mainly things directly influenced by the gender change, so like personality wise they are pretty much the same as the og

THE BIG FINALE W/ MEDIC, SNIPER AND SPY, oof this one's long and heavy...

*mentions of periods, pregnancy, conceiving and all of that, blame medic and spy, those two are fucked up, and descriptions of resentment towards ones child (it's really heavy but i dont know how to tag it help, i hope this is enough ;-;)*

medic - I like Ludwig as a surname, so she prefers to be called by that (I don't wanna search German names rn). she's bat shit crazy as og medic, so she too, didn't feel "challenged" in medical school and started doing not so legal surgeries. ok now, let's take the weird obsession that og medic has for uteruses but put it through a femminine lens. a woman with a god complex OBSESSED with the concept of reproduction and basically "creating life" is ten times more scary and menacing than the og. I firmly believe she made a procedure on herself to stop her period while keeping her ability to conceive. She just wanted to stop the pain and the bothering bleeding. so no projecting your period cramps on her, sorry 😔. she's one of the few mercs to shave, she cares about her appearance. she has a thoughtful hair and skin routine she's trying to pass to engie. medic and engie are besties. They do girls' nights in the medbay or in engie's lab in which they try to create life from scrap metal and spare body parts. Just girly things, don't worry about it. she needs 3 bottles of beer before starting to feel tipsy, she's not the best drink buddy because trying to keep up with her will most likely bring you comatose. everyone thinks she has big tits but actually, she has a big rib cage and little fat on her chest. She does not correct the others, though, she never showed her full body in the common shower. seeing the team fully naked does not bother her, she just sees future specimens, but others seeing her? that's embarrassing, that will NEVER happen.

sniper - ok, hear me out for the name, but I think Mildred would be cute, but she would prefer to be called Mindy, so her name would be Mindy Mundy. I'm a genius I know. anyway, like og sniper, she had a difficult childhood, always out of place, distant and isolated, like engie but 10 times worse. so she has EVEN WORSE care routine. no wait, correction, she DOES NOT take care of herself WHATSOEVER. she's a greasy, unkept woman with little to no care about her appearance. she has mid back length hair but she cut her front hair with scissors because they get in the way. she prefers to stay with no bra, she finds it restricting. she does sleep in the van and lived out of canned food every time she had work to do. obviously, when employed by RED she kept sleeping in the van but is grateful that heavy, scout and engie are able to cook really good meals, this kind of helped with her health. she knows how to skin animals and have great anatomical knowledge. she's neither shy or introverted, she just doesn't care about others and sometimes she's kinda of a dick, but if she actually talks to you it means that in some way she cares about you. she talks a lot with scout, even if they mainly tear each other apart, both verbally and, sometimes, physically. the fight is usually stopped by heavy or engie, the others either encourage it or do not care. she is a professional so she would never say it but she likes staying with the team, but she does say that the all have their use.

spy - uff.. ok. spy is a complicated one. an arrogant, stubborn, self centred femme fatale. she wear her mask (i'm sorry i don't remember how it's called T.T) that covers her face like og spy, but i want here to wear a neckerchief and sunglasses. she still wears a suit, but it's a woman's suit, so shorter jacket and some other small differences. the main problem with spy is that a relationship between father and son and a mother and daughter one it's REALLY DIFFERENT. if you are the one that suffered for 9 month to give birth to a human being you didn't want, you are not just gonna ignore her for the rest of her life, no, you gonna have pure hatred in you soul for your daughter… the maternal love is so easily obscured by this resentment against the child you feel ruined your life. spy's really spiteful and maybe even malicious against scout and the fact that Jenny keeps her in such high regard would only increase that love-hate sentiment. spy wants to have a loving relationship with her but she connected the very concept of her daughter to that profound hate she had for so much time that she started to loath herself. that hate towards Jenny became toward herself, but she won't admit it so she conceive that feeling behind her "disliking scout". a bond between a mother and their children is so deep that when severed in any way leaves such deep scars and may will never heal. and when your daughter sees you everyday but not her own mother, you know that wound for spy is open to the world to see. she isolates herself from the team to NEVER create a bond with anyone, she's always alone, she must know everything about others and make them scared of her, it's the only way she can keep control on her own emotion. if someone would find out ANYTHING about her she would feel vulnerable, if she bound with ANYONE she would be vulnerable, and she won't allow it. she won't never allow it again. but Jenny is the living manifestation of her vulnerability, the only time in her life in which she was happy, in love, but from where she fled the moment she had a physical representation of that. so no, she doesn't hate scout, she hates herself, she hates that she is vulnerable, that she can't be vulnerable, that she crave a loving relationship with her daughter and the consciousness she fucked everything up. her love for Jenny is so deep inside of her that is impossible to grasp, is at her very core but covered by millions of layers of hate and self loathing, all protected by the mask of a cocky and egoistic woman.

EDIT: you can find the full art line up HERE!!

pt1 | pt2

i really hope you're still here after the depression™️

[djcarnationsblog]

THANK YOU WONDERFUL AND EVER SO ELDRITCH @chessman-protocol FOR LETTING ME DO THIS, IT'S BEEN SPIRALLING IN MY BRAINCRACKS SINCE THIS MORNINGS XD

Introducing the Covert Iteration of my Rottmnt oc: Jesse Burnham!

Jesse, in both the og and Covert Aus, is a scientist who works in the fields of bioengineering, zoology and robotics! In the og Au, her main goal as a scientist was to create robot animals so life like that you couldn't tell the difference between what was real and what was fake.

In the Cover Au, she achieves this goal earlier than expected, but instead uses them to work as spy-bots for the times where a mission has to be done discreetly, undercover. They're also mainly used for outside data collection as well!

The main bots that people will witness lurking around the organization are:

Eleanor the Ginger Cat: She's the one used the most for spying besides the incredibly amount of rat bots and Ant Queen bots, as there are very few people in the world that don't like a playful ginger cat. Out of her entire arsenal, she is the most indistinguishable bot from the real thing, so much so that even other cats will mistake her for being one of them, if only for a minute.

The only way you can really pick up that something is off about her is the lack of blinking, and the way other cats will avoid her like the plague.

Hunter the Jaguar: Hunter is less of a spy-bot and more of a combatant bot on the very, very (and that's two very's) few times that Jesse will be sent out onto the field.

He's the heavy hitter, agile and lithe. Not to mention the fact that he is entirely vantablack-the deepest black in the world- save for the soft gold glow between his plates, so it makes it frighteningly easy to lose him in the night or in dark, shadowy places.

Phoebe the Hawk: Phoebe is the most important one, being Jesse's most trusted companion and confidant, she is basically Jesse's right hand bird! She is the bot that does the most arial sweeps, mostly in order to locate any target who might be in broad daylight, but she also can be used to update any joint-tasked sectors on the status of the field from above.

Not to mention, Phoebe was Jesse's first successful project of life-like robot animals, so she holds incredible sentimental value to her.

Even though this isn't even half-not even a quarter-of all the robots she has manufactured, these three bots are by-far the most important ones to Jesse, tactically and emotionally.

One very important fact about Jesse, as well, is the fact that he's bigender!

His masculine days aren't as frequent as his feminine days, but either way he certainly uses it to his advantage! Switching between the two genders (whether or not he feels like one or the other at the time) has always been a reliable disguise for him if Jesse needs to get out and do some personal investigation himself that his animals are incapable of.

Jesse is a natural smooth-talker and liar, which helps with his job especially well!

Another important thing to mention, is that I'm not entirely sure if Jesse would be in any sector himself, or if he's a solo act within the organization. What I do know, is the fact that you are able to request the use of his spy bots no matter what sector you are in, but only at a certain price. (What the price is yet? Not sure, but it's not money, that's what I know XD).

It's very, very, VERY (that's three very's!) rare for sector 5 to ever need his spy bots, as most often than not their missions are combat based (I think??? Correct me if I'm wrong qwq), but I like to think on the very rare times they do need it and DON has to get it from him? All I gotta say is that Jesse shows no fear when it comes to the turtles.

There's a medical reason for that-

AAAAAANYWAYS I THINK THAT'S ALL I GOT'S TO SAY RIGHT NOW??? Other than the fact that I wanna make a few lil' comic pages of Jesse and Don interacting cause I wanna see how accurately I can display Don's personality. I just think they'd be neat :]

AAAAAND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME DO THIS MAN OF THE CHESS OF THE CHESS CHESSMAN, YOU WONDERFUL BEING OF MYSTERIES-

[still-breathing-au-p3r]

Hello! It's been a joy reading everything you two have put out since the start of this AU and I can't compliment your characterization enough (I love both Junpei and Shinji a lot and the ways you let them shine how only they can have been so appreciated on top of the basis for the AU alone lol).

I wanted, though, to take a moment to compliment the way you write Minato in particular because I find it's so, so difficult to write him without feeling a slight dissonance or projection by the author (no flack for those who do, he just reads a very specific way in the game itself and tends to get OC-ified because it's hard to grasp onto that tiny bit of dialogue he actually speaks), but you guys grasp him in a way that feels so well and truly him: the absent-mindedness, the deal with the problem after you've created it attitude, the unwillingness to open a can of worms unless he Needs to somehow paired perfectly with the nosiness, the emotional shutdowns before he gets pushed to something like actually yelling, the subtle clumsy ways he cares... I've been raving about your work to friends who have no idea what a Persona is just because of scenes like his anthropology habit. And the way you've fleshed out his dynamic with Shinji is absolutely brilliant with the threats that fly over his head unless they're about handling fresh seafood and Shinji himself seeing him as this brat who is nonetheless impressive in so many qualities. So thank you for bringing to life what I consider the best version of him pulling from his best canon showcases!

Sorry this got so long, but if you don't mind me actually asking something now, having read your beautiful headcanons about the differences between everyone's elemental attacks and healing (which I have also been raving about to people), and knowing you guys are also big fans of Kotone, do you also have a breakdown of how her attacks and healing might contrast with Minato and everyone else in a Reload setting?

(omigosh you have NO idea how much this ask means to us. it's funny, because before we started this au, mina was actually one of my least favorite persona protags, just because of how...bland he seemed? he didn't have the chad energy like yu or the unhinged decision making like joker, or even the interesting way he dealt with his depression like kotone)

(and then we started fleshing out his character and suddenly he became my second favorite protag (just barely behind joker). we started paying attention to his more sassy responses in game, and i think it also helps that in reload, his inner thoughts are in first person rather than in second person, like in the ogs. he feels like the most "silent" of the silent protagonists, but really only on the surface level)

(the deeper you go, the more you realize that this character, who basically cares about nothing at the start of the game, grows into someone who cares SO MUCH about everything that he gives his life for it. because even after someone is broken seemingly beyond repair, all it takes is the right group of people to put you back together again. it's incredible and it makes me cry every single time)

(we took a lot of inspiration of minato's character from the p3 movies, but also from characters like sunny from omori, or kris dreemur: the "silent" protags with to much personality that it's unreal)

(our version of minato means SO MUCH to me. and his friendship with everyone makes me so emotional. so all of this to say, thank you for the kind words!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm so glad someone appreciates how we write him as much as we do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - Kirby

(Kirby hit the nail on the head with everything she said about Minato! We've gotten so deeply attached to him as a result of this project, and it makes us so happy that we're hitting the right notes with our portrayal! Thank you so much for this ask, you really did make our day!!)

(Also!

That is a super interesting question about Kotone’s elemental powers and I’m kind of amazed at myself for not thinking much about it before now??? Lemme rectify that!

Fire: Kotone’s fire magic manifests with an appearance almost like fireworks– multi-colored but tending to be dominated by bright, rosy-red flames.

Ice: Manifests like frost spreading across the surface of her attack’s target in snowflake-esque patterns.

Wind: It’s not hot or cold in particular, temperature-wise, but it’s particularly frenzied and erratic, changing direction wildly.

Lightning: In Kotone’s case, it might be more accurate to call it ‘electric’ rather than ‘lightning’ magic– it manifests like the target suddenly being beset by static so intense that it’s as damaging as a lightning strike.

Bless: The light generated by Kotone’s Bless attacks is a warm orange-pink like the light at sunset.

Curse: Kotone’s curse magic looks like nothing so much as hands– hands made of fluid-esque darkness that grab at the target, dragging them down, clawing at them, etc.

Healing: Kotone’s healing feels like sipping a hot drink, in comparison to Minato’s cold– a soothing heat that warms you up from the inside-out) - Lacey

[navyhealthyglow]

a fresh start - glow up guide no.1

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED SOMETHING SO BAD, BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO START?

Me too, and that's why we're focusing on this today. Here is what you need to do, to start your glow up era with a bang 😎

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Welcome to the first post of the Glow Up Guide series! In this series I'll be discussing everything you need to know step by step, so you can have your best glow up and become your highest self.

Let's begin! ⭐💙

STEP ONE - DECLUTTER

Before we begin, put your phone down for a bit and declutter your room. You can go as crazy or little as you wish, however I prefer to do a deep clean. Dust your shelves, counters, vacuum the floor, clean out your closet etc. Make sure your desk is organized, you know where your stuff is and everything looks neat. A fresh environment supports a fresh mind, so let's start here. If you wish, you can also throw out your old clothes and replace them with new pieces. Although don't feel pressured to do so, we're trying to glow up here, not spend a reckless amount of money.

STEP TWO - JOURNAL

How can we start our glow up journey without knowing where we are now? So grab your journal, a piece of paper or open your notes app. Write down what your situation is and why is it happening. Explain what would you like to change and acknowledge your starting position. This will help us set realistic goals later on.

STEP THREE - VISION

First two steps done, bravo! Let's keep it up then and now think about who do we want to become. Write down your vision. Who is this person? What do they look like? What do they like/dislike? What are their boundaries, beliefs? How do they act, dress, workout, eat, etc... If you're having troubles with creating your vision, don't worry, I'll make a post about it soon, but until then just look some prompts on pinterest 😽

STEP FOUR - GOALS

Now we have that, write down what do you want to achieve before 2024 ends. This can be anything depending on your personal glow up preference. If you don't know what you want to accomplish yet, don't worry. Here are some goal examples for you: ⟶ read three non-fiction books ⟶ implement a morning and evening routine ⟶ finish a project ⟶ get a certain grade ⟶ prioritize sleep and self care ⟶ focus on your gut health and diet ⟶ save 500$ These are just some examples you can use, but remember to find a goal thats meaningful to YOU! If you're reading this after 2024 ends, just write down your goals for the next three months.

STEP FIVE - PLAN!

It's time for the last step - planning. Review what you wrote about your goals, your vision and where you are now. Now take it and break it down into weekly goals, and break them down to bite sized habits that you can implement daily! Here is an example: If my goal is to get fit, first I'll start drinking more water and cut out processed foods. I will buy a gym membership or find an activity that works for me (walking, running, dance, swimming, etc.) and do it regularly, let's say 3 times a week. I'll also move my body daily and try to get at least 7k steps in. This is just an example, but this is basically how this works. If you need help with planning your schedule, feel free to use AI as a tool. Tell it to create a glow up plan according to your current situation and your vision and adjust it to your needs. A tip I found very helpful, is to put everything like workouts, classes and plans in a weekly calendar. This will help you stay organized and keep up with your plans. I'll show you how I did mine below!

You can find these free templates on canva, picsart and pinterest! I got mine here.

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That's the end of todays post. I hope you had a great time reading it, and let me know if you'd like to see more content like this from me!

I can't wait to hear what you planned for your glow up in the comments, feel free to share<3

Find me here: 🤍💿

#navyhealthyglow - all my og content #navyhealthytips - glow up tips #navyhealthyjourney - my glow up journey

[skyl3m0n]

This is from the person who owns the GDLTD AU and I want some more information on your character Atlas. I am going to put her in the AU but I need some more info.

Like:

What is she based on?

What is she exactly?

A photo of her design inspiration?

What her personality is like?

Her history?

What is a snow-pyridactal?

Because I need more ideas on who she is first to give her more fitting lore in the AU

Thank you very much

To begin with, I want to make it clear that Atlas is a male character, not female.His design has truly sparked my creativity and imagination. The concept was bom from a deep fascination I developed for Arctic animals, which led me to ponder the idea of crafting a creature inspired by a prehistoric being. This thought process gave rise to the snow pterodactyl, and soon after, Atlas himself emerged into existence. I have such a fondness for him, it's almost Overwhelming

Atlas embodies a personality that is fiercely loyal, incredibly kind, and undeniably sweet. However, when angered, he can project an intimidating presence, and he often exhibits a shy Demeanor

One notable aspect of his character is his intense aversion to Dandy. In the original game. Dandy's actions resulted in the tragic loss of Atlas's friends, a betrayal that he finds impossible to Forgiving

Reflecting on his past poses a significant challenge for him. Nevertheless, the essence of his memories remains strikingly clear. He once enjoyed a close-knit friendship with a group of companions, a bond that thrived before the onset of the ichor operation, which tragically resulted in their infection and premature deaths. Initially, he was blissfully ignorant of the grave circumstances they were facing, but as he delved deeper in pursuit of the truth, he found himself caught in a perilous web of danger. It was through this treacherous journey that he ultimately uncovered the mystery surrounding their demise, and it was during this process that his bitterness towards Dandy began to take root, intensifying with each new revelation

As for Atlas's abilities, he possesses the remarkable power to create protective shields. reminiscent of the iconic skills seen in Steven Universe.

Additionally, he can soar through the skies, aided by his wings that he has. However, for this alternate reality, those wings are not a natural endowment but rather prosthetic replacements, serving as a painful reminder of the traumatic day when his original wings were brutally torn from his back, marking a profound loss in his life and his Psyche

In this alternate universe, his character embodies a subtly distinct tone. He is mare introspective, often choosing to embrace silence rather than engage in conversation. Although he retains his shy nature, there's a palpable intensity about him especially evident in his approach to combat, where he displays a more aggressive and fierce demeanor.When it comes to outfit inspiration, think of Whisper from the Sonic comics. Her look, including the mask, truly encapsulates the essence of what i envision. Upon further reflection, I found Whisper's outfit to be quite captivating, and for this alternate universe, I would love to weave in elements that echo that unique style, creating a blend that feels both fresh and fitting for his character when it comes to weaponry, aside from the shields he has, his primary choice is a bow and arrows, as he prefers engaging from a distance. For close combat, he relies on knives and blades

I really hope this provides some clarity. Here's a reference for the original character, Atlas, to give you a better understanding of his appearance (not for the alternate universe, but for the original concept).

Here's what his looks like (not for the day but what Atlas looks like) so you can get an idea of what he looks like for the og universe and not the au.

[greenplumbboblover]

Hey Lyra, Hypothetically, and based on recent developments in AI and being able to use chatgbt to pretty much get an answer for most things, I've noticed some games are being completely remastered by modders/community in UE5 (eg: 2unreal5underground) and I wanted to know if you ever imagined ts3 to be "remade" in the future by the community? You are an OG so I thought it made sense to ask you as you've developed a lot of stuff for the game. So just an idea and wanted to know your thoughts???

Hey!

Oh I love this question because I have checked this out actually! (and have thought about it many times lol) :)

So we all know that TS3's scripting API runs on C#. Unity is also purely C# in that sense (well okay their engine is also written in C++ but generally speaking, it's C#). So, in theory, this would be possible. Unreal would be harder as you'd have to create the game basically from scratch. Including the code.

However, the bottleneck comes to stuff that needs to be rewritten. For example (assuming we'd use Unity as a reference), some things that come to mind that are handled by the C++ side of TS3's engine would need to be "Unity-fied" such as:

Thumbnail creation. That one is easy.

Package reading/loading/writing. That one is doable because of the amount of wiki info on it. Though, not everything is reversed engineered, unfortunately.

Convert everything to use Unity's calculations and helper classes. Since those are, often, 10000x better than EAs more "cheaper" methods. (they're often made for one purpose rather than multiple in mind, which makes things much more challenging than they have to be.)

Routing needs to be completely redone, since Unity also has its own (better) routing system. \

Somehow make EA's custom UI elements work with Unity's UI. Or completely rework it.

Save readings. Although if it was totally up to me I'd rework that myself to be much lighter.

I do know what needs to happen, but I haven't really attempted it because by myself it's A LOT of work that definitely will take years to do on my own.

However, I do have a secret thing to share :p

I had for funs, made a TS3 bodyshop thingy as my first Unity project. It looks cool right now, but it's a bit shit in regards to the coding, because I was really new to Unity). Plus it's SO SLOW!... I was thinking of redoing the whole thing after the core mod for Hobbies and Interests was out.

Here are some pictures!

Anyways, I may check it out. But I may just stick with my little bodyshop program for the time being :p

[dragon--ashes]

WELCOME to part 2 of "my supervisor made me do it" (me-throwing-my-friend-in-the-ocean-in-november edition.)

Supervisor said to me "Eloise if you were any more shy you'd be underground" so yeah there's that😃I don't think she's seen me online.

She says I need to get comfortable posting things in places regardless of interaction or not. I tried putting her off this idea by mentioning crap and old projects from back in college (not uni, I was like 16/17) that are unlisted. She said that it's even better to post crap and old stuff because it means I'll be more confident at posting the good stuff🙄

So yeah, don't try to outhink lecturers, they know better than you and are more stubborn than even I am.

(She's great really she just likes getting me out of my comfort zone and I don't.)

So here's the time I threw my actor friend in the sea, in November, and in a wedding dress back in '23 for a book trailer for 'listen to the moon' set in 1915 (hence old-timey 4:3 ratio).

This is a one minute segment of the whole 4 minute video which I can't post because it has my ✨️last name✨️ in it, which I can't change because muggins over here didn't save the og video before uploading.

Tbh the whole video is probably my second best work (104/120 marks👀) and I'm still proud of creating the overlay template independently and blending it with the lighting corruption on premiere🫠 (took 5 hours but meh). Not proud of the sound mixing here but the rough cut is...er...rough I guess-?

And from nearly two years ago. Now I have to use avid EURGH

But yes here have this shit.