#and THAT is why I wrote Kinesthetic

[itischeese]

I think part of why I love giving obito back to kid kakashi is like. In canon, just as he had the chance to begin healing and becoming his weirdo self, he lost obito, which was just the start of him losing his entire team/family and became a robotic shell of himself.

If he’d gotten obito back before all the rest of that? You better believe (it) he would’ve been living his best weirdo life, behaving (to obito) unexplainably and slightly dementedly. A little freak, sitting outside obito’s window at night like a scorned dog who got a lick of affection and has now imprinted on obito.

[gaydr0id]

some of my rk900 hcs

there is only one rk900, built as a proof of concept that cyberlife never got a chance to pitch to the military because shit hit the fan

he collected dust for years before cyberlifes assets were surrendered to the deviants and he was woken up

having no idea what to do with his life, he decided to make his skills useful and join the dpd

he originally works homicide as a detective but transfers to the swat after a falling out with gavin

he treats the job very seriously, but doesnt really get any fulfilment from it.

he is quite neutral about law enforcement and the law in general. morality doesnt factor into his work, he just shows up and does what hes told.

total wiseass with a superiority complex

he has a complicated relationship with submission. i wrote a fic about that.

touch starved AF

sex and kink fascinate him and hes a kinesthetic learner

he got that connor model autism

pretty ambivalent toward gender but likes when people use he/him pronouns and call him a man, more because it shows he is viewed with equal status to a human, and less because it is gender affirming.

probably would use it/its pronouns if that wasnt so heavily associated with android oppression

he loves being an android and hes proud to be the only rk900, which is why he chooses not to go by connor or any other name (side note nathaniel is my favourite choice for when he does go by a name instead of his model number)

kept his led

minsexual and demiromantic

abandonment trauma from being left in storage for 3 years

raging perfectionist

sedatephobic and wears headphones sometimes even though he doesnt technically need them because having the physical vibration in his auditory receptors is soothing

cant stand being idle but also has no hobbies outside of work so he spends a lot of time in stasis

is very emotionally detached from death

he is the only android at the dpd who still uses the android storage. there are showers at the precinct and a locker for him to keep his spare clothes in. he doesnt really own anything else and doesnt care about privacy so he has no motivation to rent a place of his own

he has no concept of the value of money and has a lot of savings since he doesnt spend it much so he will just drop fat stacks on shit without a second thought

feel free to yoink any of these if you like em

[edmcmayonnaise]

Months ago, I wrote "biographies" for Edwin and Simon in the style of the Edwardian (Third Edition published in 1915) study on "Sexual Inversion" (medical phrasing that pre-dates the term "homosexuality") in the style of Studies in the Psychology of Sex by Havelock Ellis. This book can be found for free online and is a treasure trove due to the collection of biographies written by queer people.

Maybe against my better judgment, I will share them now for Simon Appreciation Week, as they capture to some extent how I perceive their interpersonal dynamics.

HISTORY E.P. - English, student at public boarding school, aged 16. His father, who comes from an unremarkable middle class lineage, is a physician. His father has been deployed to France since 1914 for wartime service. His mother’s family has a history notable for hysteria in his maternal grandmother, and his mother he describes as a high-strung and nervous woman who herself has been intermittently institutionalized for afflictions of mood. 

He has no siblings, and describes the relationship with his parents as distant. He lived most of his early childhood life in the care of a nanny. At age seven, was sent away to boarding school. 

He has never been attracted to girls or women, though had minimal contact with girls his age, He takes little interest in women or in their society. There is nothing markedly feminine in his general appearance, but he does believe that his general kinesthetic disposition is not viewed by others as manly. Specifically, he says that he is concerned that the animated way in which his hands is too recognizable as a symptom of what he considers to be his congenital condition. 

He is of average height and medium-slim build, but generally normatively developed and healthy. He considers himself to lack skill in athletic pursuits with the exception of fencing, but is an omnivorous reader and excels in academics. 

In his own words:

“I have always been very shy of showing any affectionate tendencies. Most of my acquaintances (and close friends, even) find me curiously cold. For obvious reasons I have been unable to speak as to why this is. I fear being cruelly misunderstood, and I have at times felt as if wrestling in the folds of the morally reprehensible python of inversion.

"I find myself cut off from others, feel myself to be an outcast, and, amongst others my age, am intensely withdrawn. Privately, I am miserable. The desire to love and be loved is hard to drown, especially when treading through a veritable pool of ‘what-ifs’ as I am surrounded by male virality in all aspects of my life at school.

“I am not sure entirely what it is for which I am longing. Certainly, my parents neglected to impart to me any sort of knowledge of the adult modus vivendi. The only thing I do know with confidence is that no bodily satisfaction should be sought at the cost of another person’s distress or degradation, including my own.

“At my school, I have heard rumor, and in fact been the subject of rumor, regarding attachments and gratifications with other boys, which are all untrue. As with any topic that is discussed only behind cupped hands and in whispers, the stories become more and more fantastical as they are shared from schoolmate to schoolmate. Upon my truest promise, I have never yielded to the temptation of any sort of intercrural connection. I have preserved strict chastity. I do not know how long my mind can hold back the instincts of my heart and body, but I am terrified that I will soon lose this seemingly never ending battle.”

Shortly after E.P. submitted his history for publication in this book, it was reported that he and several other boys at his school went missing in what the school is calling an Act of God. Any additional information about what may have happened to this youth and his friends is not forthcoming at this time. 

~

HISTORY S.M. - English, student at a public boarding school, aged 17. Father and mother both living; the latter is of a better social standing than the former. He is much attached to his mother, and she gives him some sympathy and companionship, when he is at home. He is the third of four siblings, all boys, and he suspects that his next elder brother is also inverted.

In early life, S.M. was of delicate constitution and his studies were often interrupted by illness. Though living under mostly happy conditions he was shy and nervous, often depressed. This he attributes to having been on several occasions mishandled by his next elder brother; concedes that his brother is prone to foul and violent moods. However, his brother is well-liked, by his father and other siblings, he says, because of his masculine character. His brother has many friends at school. Though S.M. does report that he does have some influence over some of his classmates, he has few close friends.

Of his inversion, he reports the following:

“There is a boy in my year who has become the absorbing thought of my school days, and who comes to me in my dreams almost nightly. I have absolutely no words to tell you how powerfully his beauty affects me. He is well-formed, lean, shy, and in my dream he sits beside me, allowing our legs to touch and for me to caress his thigh. He looks at me with desire in his eyes, green, but clouded over dark with his want for me to kiss him. And I do want to kiss him– on his wrist, and his palm, and into the gentle, milky curve of his neck, and to leave my lover’s mark on him, to say to anyone who might pursue him that he is mine and mine only. 

“I keep my feelings hidden, however, hardly daring to look at him for fear of being found out. His bed is next to mine, and the rest of the dormitory is boisterous and lewd, and there is a good deal of bullying, which I cannot bear to have directed my way.

“I have tried to tell myself that these dreams are not due to a moral failing of my own, but indeed this boy’s own influence upon me. I love him and I resent him. His seeming indifference towards my existence, as he has never responded well when I have plucked up my courage to speak with him, angers me. I want him to look towards me and love me, too.”

S.M. was involved in the same incident as E.P.,  where he and several other boys went missing from their school. It is reported that their last known whereabouts were their school dormitory rooms.

[shineyma]

tagged by @ragnarokhound! thanks for the tag!!

name: Amy! Nice, simple, rarely gets misspelled. A pretty good name I think.

pronouns: she/her

where do you call home: Texas!!! It gets three exclamation points because I just moved back in December after three and a half miserable years in Louisiana XD I'm very happy to be home

favorite animal: Tiger 🐅 You know how when you're a kid you just pick a favorite animal and it just sticks with you forever, no longer a point of interest as you age but still written into a deep part of your soul as Very Important?

...or is that just me?

cereal of choice: Honey Nut Cheerios on a regular day, but I do enjoy some Peanut Butter Crunch when I wanna treat myself. Also I go through occasional phases of hardcore craving Frosted Mini Wheats, so that happens.

visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner: Visual/kinesthetic. I have hearing problems and my brain defaults to "didn't hear that, must not've been important" which means I am the opposite of an auditory learner. This is a big problem in my life lol

first pet: When I was a kid, I won some fishes at a school fiesta. That was my first and last pet experience.

favorite scent: I think...sandalwood??? I'm not a scent expert but I got this wooden rosary at my confirmation that I think was sandalwood and it smelled so good? Catch me sniffing my rosary like a weirdo to this day.

do you believe in astrology: I know I'm a leo and that's it. All this sun sign/moon sign/ascending stuff that's suddenly popular is baffling to me. And the typical description~ of leos is all about being outgoing and confident and bold so like, ha, no. I absolutely don't believe in it.

how many playlists on spotify/apple music: why. who have you been talking to. what do you know. so many I cry

sharpies or highlighters: Neither, they bleed through the page and that drives me crazy

songs that make you cry: "No Good Deed" from Wicked. "Everything I Know" from In the Heights. "Beauty from Pain" by Superchick. Those are just the first three to come to mind, I tear up pretty easily lol

songs that make you happy: "Be Okay" by Oh Honey. "Alive" by Krewella. "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega. Also just the first three to come to mind, I'm easily influenced by music XD

do you write/draw/create: Not recently sadly. I used to! I'm still very proud of my 52 weeks of fic, in which I successfully posted a fic every week for the entirety of 2020, despite both a global pandemic and my best friend dying.

But part of my 52 weeks of fic included writing for Harry Potter and I got some significant hate on those fics. It kind of just...totally killed my muse. I tried to push past it but here I am with my last fic published in September 2021, going on almost two years with no writing at all. :(

I did get a little inspired lately, but it fizzled out. JD's birthday is coming up in September (that last fic I wrote was her 2021 birthday gift XD) so maybe I'll try again then?

tagging but no pressure: the usual crowd! @safelycapricious, @ilosttrackofthings, @sapphireglyphs, @andyouweremine, @thestarfishdancer

[reyesmarconi]

of all the gods i could associate with charles (and i used to spend decent amounts of time coming up with these assocations for my characters in the past), hephaestus has always been the most fitting one and the one I am most fond of (his board on pinterest is even named after heph!). it was harder to gauge why back then when I wrote charles as younger than he is; you would have expected for the fight/combat aspect of his character to be highlighted, and for him to be some kind of warrior god, rather than me focusing on the craftsmanship aspect, but I’ve always seen that part of him as more important, even if fighting is such a pervasive element of his story. charles has always been a tinkerer, he likes to break things apart to then put them back together because that is how he understands the world around him, and he likes to create and design and engineer. he’s a hands on individual and kinesthetic learner, and that’s all things I associate with heph too, and in turn why I really associate hephaestus with charles. there’s also, of course, the conflictive relationship they’ve got with their parents, and something that helped seal the deal for me too – the seeming status as an outsider among the other gods. from my reading, people (and gods) like to single Hephaestus out for a variety of reasons, from being the ‘ugly’ one to the 'imperfect’ (due to his disability) one to the humiliation he suffered by being thrown off mt olympus (twice), and almost dying (twice), because gods aren’t meant to be or experience any of that. and that’s something that really resonates, and something key to, I guess, my characterization. you can easily interpret Heph as being a bit alienated from the other gods, despite the fact that he works for them so often and so closely. there’s a level of distance, but rather than find resentment in this, hephaestus actively embraces it. I see Hephaestus as perfectly comfortable with his (as others call them) “imperfections”. he does not hide them, he does not shy away from them, and insults in regards to any of them do not faze him. as a result, others either respect him or just try to stay away. and both of those things suit him just fine — he has a reclusive personality and likes to pour his time onto his work, and does not concern himself with the opinions of others. heph doesn’t really give a fuck about what anyone thinks.

[frameacloud]

Hi, I was active in the otherkin community during and before that time period, and I'm a community historian who has put decades of work into making sure that it isn't misrepresented, misremembered, or lost. Here's one of the books I wrote about it, which is cited in academic writings on the topic, such as Proctor’s anthropology dissertation. I’ve dedicated my life to contributing as much as I can to the otherkin community, but I’m not a leader in the community: it has no leaders, we’re all equal here.

I’m opening my response with my experience and credibility to establish why I'm concerned about your claims above and how you’ve presented them as though you're a community elder, even though you say you're not otherkin, and you have shown you haven’t explored the community enough to speak with the sort of authority that you express in your posts about it. For example, KinHost.org is one of the larger and older otherkin and plural websites still active, having started in 1999, run by a DID system with many otherkin members, who spoke at Plural Positivity World Conference 2024. It’s okay to not have known about that, but it’s something else for you to assert that this large part of the community never existed until recently, without the curiosity to first explore and see if you had missed something important.

For my research, I had to read every article defining otherkin from the time period you mentioned and earlier. Even when the word otherkin was coined in the year 1990 in the Elfinkind Digest, some members of that private mailing list described it as an identity. That has been one of the ways that people consistently talk about it over the decades, and in its adequate Dictionary.com definition.

What articles or sources do you have from 2008 or prior which say that "the term 'Otherkin' described a specific circumstance, rather than an identity"? That isn’t a claim that I recall seeing in any sources from that time period. If you can show me one via the Wayback Machine archive, I’d be interested in adding it to an interactive bibliography that I help run, the Alterhuman Archive.

Please be aware that shunning the words "identity" or "identify" is a red flag of transphobia. Transphobic rhetoric has politicized those words in recent years. In conventional English, "I am," "my identity is," and "I identify as" mean the same thing: identity means the condition of being something. It's the verb "to be."

You have given a very novel definition of kinesthetic sense here, which isn't something I recognize from otherkin essays. In medicine, the kinesthetic sense is part of your sense of balance and being able to tell how your body is moving and positioned, which is not lost in a typical and healthy childhood. What New Age authors use that word the way that you described? Or when you say "I call" it that, does that mean this redefinition is your own creation?

Anyone know of any good otherkin servers? I’m looking for ones that are 18+ or 21+ and, if possible, ones with folks who were around in otherkin forums circa 2008.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello Ms. Raven. I hope you're having a good day. I really love reading your twst analysis because I can understand the boys more! There's something bothering me and I really need your opinion. English is not my first language so I hope you can understand me🙏. Most fanfics depicts Adeuce and Grim as a dumb troublemakers that gives Yuu problems almost everyday. This really annoys me. Every first year has their own type of intelligence. Ace and Deuce are smart and capable. I don't know how to elaborate this but I know you get what I mean.

[You can read my TWST analyses here!]

Yeah, I totally get what you mean! 💦 It’s honestly really easy to define a character by a single trait (or a handful of traits), since it’s difficult to write the full breadth of TWST’s very complex and fleshed out characters.

Some of the misinterpretations and misunderstandings come down to not reading certain materials, as a lot of lore is scattered throughout events and vignettes (with some character lore being in vignettes that don’t even focus on them). I think if you were to read the main story and literally nothing else (or only a few supplemental vignettes), it would be somewhat understandable to be under the impression that Adeuce and Grim are dumb troublemakers (since that’s how the main story generally presents them).

Of course, with TWST being TWST, a character is never as shallow as “dumb troublemaker” and nothing else 😅 because a core theme of the game is that nothing is “black and white”, or one extreme. There’s always more to the story that isn’t being told, especially at a surface level viewing.

I think part of the reason why Adeuce and Grim are seen as unintelligent (besides how the main story presents them) is because it’s often pointed out that they don’t perform well academically. It’s true that they don’t get the best grades, but I wish people wouldn’t act as though this somehow makes them “lesser than” other characters. It puts the onus on grades and grades alone to define a character’s skill and worth, which shouldn’t be true, whether in fiction or in the real world. (It reminds me of a conversation Riddle and Azul had in episode 6, where Riddle is the one placing the emphasis on grades equating to an individual’s competence, and Azul tells him that titles like “top student” don’t get you anywhere if you don’t have real world experience or know how to use that knowledge.)

Even within the realm of “intelligence”, there’s many different classifications of intelligence that extend beyond what we typically think of as “intelligence” (ability to test well and perform well in a typical academic setting): social intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence, linguistic intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, musical intelligence, etc. Intelligence isn’t limited to JUST being book smart, it also includes how that knowledge is used and applied.

This applies to Adeuce, Grim, and literally every character (I wrote this brief analysis on why Kalim, another character typically regarded as unintelligent, is actually intelligent in his own way); they have have their own strengths and are intelligent in their own ways. For example, Ace is extremely good at lying (as we see in episode 3, when he served as the distraction for the museum guards). He is also adept at copying others, as he is able to watch others perform dances or routines once before roughly being able to mimic those movements. His cheery veneer is an easy act to get others to open up to him and to trust him before he tears them down—something we witness several times whenever Ace interacts with Deuce, or heck, even when Ace first meets Yuu in the prologue.

Deuce, while definitely the dimmer of the duo, makes up for his lack of wit with sheer determination. He’s much more motivated to better himself than Ace is, and also a lot more sensitive and considerate of his classmates. Additionally, Deuce is the most introspective of the trio, often reflecting on his mistakes and thinking about how he can improve from them (which is evident in his backstory, Wish Upon a Star, and the main story). It is this self-reflection that ultimately builds up to him discovering his unique magic in episode 5, because he finally realizes that his true strength lies not in thinking, but in his stubbornness.

bdjsvsdiwjskd I could go on and on, but I’m going to stop right there before this response gets any longer since I think I’ve made my point by now 🥲 I don’t like it when grades or very generalized intelligence is implied to be the “end all, be all” of anyone’s worth, because it really shouldn’t be (and this is coming from me, a straight A student). Different people have different things to offer, and I think we should be more accepting of that rather than automatically brand characters that are literally just your average teenagers as “dumb”.

[misscammiedawn]

ok, silly questions aside:

1) what is a movie you think deserves more recognition than it gets today? Why?

2) what is something you've been surprised to learn about yourself in the last year? (something you were surprised you were able to do counts, if that's easier to answer)

3) what advice would you give someone new to the hypnoscene that you wish you'd had when you first found our little kink space?

1 - Dark City is the one that comes instantly to mind. There are many other pioneer movies that crawled so other movies can run (Jacob's Ladder is another for instance) but I can think of few other films which are so overshadowed by the things that stole and borrowed from it that never got their day in the sun. I am not a big fan of the film, though the idea of switching memories/personalities between people and seeing what their soul does with it is fascinating. Not one I'd seek out to watch again, but one I wish more people knew.

2 -There are so many things that I can put here. Particularly surrounding unexpected bouts of bravery at Beguiled. My relationship with Daja has helped make certain things I've 'known' for a while become less feelings and more understandings. On the other hand my *play* with Daja has also unlocked some gates. I managed to get a partner to Esdaile more than once. Got a kinesthetic modality to experience visual hallucinations and managed to stay in Top Mode for a full scene and on command which used to just not happen. Idk 2022 has been an educational year and that ignores shit like therapy, work and personal life. Oh and apparently I'm really good at amnesia play and suggestions that make your brain pave over to act like everything is normal.

3 - For myself it would be the grounding advice I wrote about a month ago. I feel my life would have been better if I practiced post-scene safety. But I think the best thing to do is teach green and red flags. How to find a practice or play partner worth your time, how to tell when boundaries are being tested and broken. Safety should be first for all. CNC and brainwashing can come after you are sure you have the knowledge not to regret it.

[dwenvs3000w25]

Hi Sydney, I enjoyed reading your blog! Your vision of guiding visitors through forest trails to help them connect with the environment is exactly what I would do as well. It aligns with my own career goals so I incorporated it into my interpretation. Your goal and focus on creating meaningful connections and inspiring others to care about the natural world definitely resonates with me. I loved your point about adapting to different learning styles, like using storytelling for auditory learners or interactive activities for kinesthetic learners, this definitely connected to our unit 2 readings. In my ideal role, I also see the importance of creativity in making experiences engaging to a diverse audience in order to inspire everyone and not just a certain group. If you were to design a scavenger hunt or hands-on activity, what would it include? I think we both agree that creativity and excitement are key to making visitors truly connect with their surroundings in a fun and engaging manner. Your emphasis on passion also really stood out to me. I completely agree that it’s the driving force behind an effective interpretation. Without it, it makes it a lot harder to inspire others. In my blog, I wrote about wanting to show visitors the beauty in everyday nature—do you have a favourite plant, animal, or natural feature you’d highlight to inspire that same sense of awe? I would try to show the beach during the sunset, or the feeling of breeze under the trees of a forest on a nice sunny day. Your thoughts on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment resonate with me. It’s so important to ensure our diverse audience of visitors of all ages and backgrounds feel engaged and valued. Have you ever had a moment where you encouraged someone to see nature differently? I did this past summer when I took my boyfriend camping and he gained a deeper love for the simple things in nature and the rules of nature and why they exist.

-originally replied in comments (Jan 19)

My Ideal Role of an Environmental Interpreter

Hi everyone!

Today I am going to share with you how I see myself as an environmental interpreter and how they may help people connect with the world around them. 

Environmental interpreters play a key role in strengthening connections between individuals and their natural and cultural surroundings. Their work encourages people to perceive the world around them more deeply, gain greater understanding, and develop respect for their environment.

Environmental interpretation involves creating engaging experiences that allow people to make meaningful connections. Whether leading a hike through a forest trail or creating interactive exhibits and activities at a nature centre, interpreters provide visitors opportunities to spark curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. 

If I were an interpreter, I envision myself guiding visitors through forest trails and national parks.  I would lead them through beautiful trails, sharing knowledge about the diverse plants and animals seen throughout the way. By leading visitors through the nature surrounding us and observing breathtaking views, I would aim to create a meaningful and exciting experience for everyone.

To do this, an interpreter must focus on understanding the needs of all visitors and adapt to their different learning styles to ensure effective communication and understanding. Visual learners may benefit from engaging graphics and charts that present essential information in a clear and captivating way. Auditory learners may benefit from storytelling by using difficult environmental concepts and integrating them into an engaging story that resonates with the visitors. On the other hand, kinesthetic learners benefit from hands-on activities and interactive experiences. This can include scavenger hunts through the forests or nature walks to engage the senses. 

An environmental interpreter must possess several other essential skills. Professionalism is a key quality interpreters must possess. They require a strong understanding of the environment they are presenting, strong communication skills, and the ability to adapt to different age groups. For example, interpretations for children, teenagers, and adults should not be the same and should follow different approaches necessary for understanding. Interpreters should also be organized and approachable, allowing visitors to feel comfortable to ask questions and express themselves. 

Above all qualities is passion. Passion is the essential component for powerful and successful interpretation. Without passion, it becomes difficult to spark curiosity and interest in others. Passion motivates interpreters to go above and beyond to create the most engaging and inclusive atmosphere necessary for visitors to build genuine connections with the nature around them. This is the key component that makes a simple transfer of knowledge into a memorable experience. 

Thanks for following along. See you next week!

Sydney 

[evesaintyves]

Writing challenge: Remus/Tonks, 1 Behind the scenes: 3, 4, 19

that was the prompt I was most worried about, tbh! i wrote about it recently (but briefly) in All the Bricks in the Wall. but I'm still gonna try to write something and post it tomorrow! thanks for the request!

For the behind the scenes asks:

3. Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around?

i often write scenes as they come to me, at least in rough draft form, and set them aside while i'm organizing my thoughts about the entire fic. a lot of the time it's a single vignette or exchange that gets the ball rolling and the rest of the story is developed around it. and sometimes what i've written gets chopped up and mixed around so it ultimately wasn't written start to finish, but when i set out to get a chapter or a fic done it's straight through before i lose momentum, other than an occasional placeholder.

4. Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline?

extensively! i sometimes do multiple stages of outlining, starting with the general beats of the story and progressing to a hastily-written, typo-strewn, no-caps, low-punctuation story-lite which then gets rewritten for real.

i don't want to give anyone the impression that i'm like a super-organized writer - i'm not. the outlining is necessary to keep me from digressing too much or going down rabbit holes, which i have a tendency to do. and i also just like to have a balanced-feeling story with a structure that's satisfying and make sure the themes and thoughts i want in there get where they need to be.

often in the course of outlining and writing the substance or scope of the story will change abruptly and drastically. i have dozens of abandoned outlines in my notes app. i'm not great at sticking to my own plans.

19. Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

i had an interesting conversation about this with @turanga4 a while ago, about how as someone who tends to overthink things, characters who tend to under-think things are harder to write. i feel like this can extend to a lot of different qualities, like characters who seem more tactile/kinesthetic than verbal or characters who are arrogant or impulsive.

the example we talked about was Ron Weasley, but i encounter it sometimes in writing Tonks. i see Tonks as impulsive and having somewhat black-and-white ideas about how the world works - she's young, she's basically a wizard cop, etc. the advantage with Tonks, at least, is that i've been a 20-something woman with a complicated romantic life, so at least i get that part?

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Heya! One of your writing fans here, i’m just curious. How long did it take for you to write a chapter? (Cause dear god each an one of ‘em are 15-20k minimum, I’m genuinely impressed) and how do you come up with the plot? (at least for TPWP) Did you already map it out from start to finish or just type out whatever seems right and hope for the best— a.k.a wing it?

P.s. I highkey love it when your fic (or any fic in general) packed with an absolute shit-ton of words. It forces me to lay down and get *comfortable* before reading. Cause I know it’s going to be one hell of a ride. And it did, every single chapter of your fic. Well done m8!

Hi!!! Thanks so much for the ask! I’ll separate my answer in a few parts, to be more clear.

1. That depends on the chapter, honestly, ha. Most chapters took me a day or two to write, with the longer ones taking about 3-4 days. I can generally write about 10K a day when I’m in the mood, so writing a 15-20k chapter can take anywhere from a day and a half to two days. I wrote all of TPWP in the span of a month and a half, and the entire story totals about 375k words. I just… I get bored with things easily, you know? So when I get invested, I try my hardest to get the entire thing done as quick as possible to prevent me from dropping it and forgetting about it completely. I also am a very verbose person, which anyone who follows my Tumblr can tell, ha. I wrote the first part of TPWP while on winter break from work, but the second half I did while working, which was a bit trickier, but not much. I was doing virtual after school teaching then and had a lot of downtime, ha. Also! I tend to write in my phone while lying on my bed in the dark with my glasses off, so I’m all comfy and things, ha. It does cramp my arm and hand after a while, but it’s worth it I feel. :-)

2. I wing it, honestly. With TPWP, I had no plot at all when I started. This happens sometimes, where I just have the desire to write but have no idea of what to write, and figure that if I write enough words down, something will come to me. I knew that I wanted to have a story about Taka and Mondo while at school, absolutely NO killing games whatsoever, and to have Taka be anxious. That was the extent of my “planning.” The ideas and plot came after, which is why the first few chapters are a bit meandering and have more tropes from other fics I’ve read. It wasn’t until chapter 13-ish that I truly began having an idea of where to go with the story. Before that it was mostly… idea to idea, you know?

Also, I kind of hate planning things, ha. Mapping them out, writing my ideas down… I hate it, and a lot of it comes from the fact that I don’t ever tend to follow those plans. I am a very kinesthetic writer, where I prefer to just… write as I go and see what happens. Sometimes I’ll daydream about a chapter before writing it, but that often frustrates me since I forget the details about what I was day dreaming and do something completely different when I go to write it down. And I could, in theory, write down my ideas from the day dream, but that doesn’t work well for me since if I’m going to be writing the ideas down, why not just write the whole chapter??? Ha. I also tend to get inspired while writing and want to go down a certain path, but if I have this elaborate plan, then I can’t do that, can I? With TPWP, I had a loosey goosey idea of where to go, and followed it leisurely. When other plot points came to mind while writing, I followed them, all while having my end game in mind. Just… I took a bunch of detours.

Honestly, a lot of my writing style comes from the fact I do like day dreaming a lot, where I create tons of stories in my head about this or that. It’s why my writing is very informal and reads more like thoughts someone is thinking than a professionally written story. It’s just what comes naturally to me. I write kind of like I think, and I think a lot like I talk. So it’s kind of just… word vomit, ya know? But I happen to have a story to tell while doing it.

3. I’m glad you like the chapter length! When chapters get super long I get a bit nervous, since I know it can get annoying to be scrolling down a page forever, especially if the page accidentally refreshes or something, ha. But it does comfort me to know that people do like it. :-D

Anyway, thanks for the ask!! I’m glad you like the story and I hope you have a great day! Or night! Or afternoon! :-D

[jochmus]

Method of Loci and Reality Shifting

There was a video from a source that I will not name that brought this community to my attention. Thus, if you will allow me to do so, I am going to give my two-cents on the matter. Let us see how this goes. 

In terms of reality shifting itself, I do not think that it is a real phenomena, at least in the way that it is presented in terms of literally going to another universe. However, I know that this would not go over well, so instead of contesting the whole of reality shifting and getting chewed-out by everyone, I am going to instead compare it to something that I think is more realistic: Memory Palaces. Reality shifting, really, may be understood as a form of creating spontaneous memory palaces, like in dreams with space (not outer space but more along the lines of “distance”) in them. 

Assuming that most of you reading this are children or young adults, I do not necessarily want to be responsible for getting you into memory palaces, or more properly the Method of Loci. To be honest I only know about such a method from the title of Frances Yates’ book on the subject, which I learned about from studying Giordano Bruno. Indeed there is another post on my account about him that may be of interest. 

Without attempting to invalidate anyone aside from the second paragraph, as that is not my intention at all, okay, I would like to delve into a brief summary of memory palaces, and how they contrast with reality shifting. Then I will seek an integration of the two. 

If I am to be frank, my intention with this post is to help to transform Dark Academia into the next Renaissance, in accordance with the theory of a certain YouTuber. I have come to the conclusion that in order to make this work, the “aesthetic” element of Dark Academia will need to be replaced with actually finding and reading great texts from around the world. Here’s to hoping that can happen with this discussion of the Method of Loci or Memory Palaces augmenting the practice of Reality Shifting. Food for thought; cheers, and lets get down to the meat of this essay.

* * *

Memory palaces function with two essential elements: The space of the building or location where the perception takes place, and then the mnemonic devices intended to enable memorizing things. You could potentially build a memory palace in Minecraft if visualization is difficult for you, but that is a bit off topic. Cicero the Roman Senator and rhetorician came up with the method in the first place, and Giordano Bruno wrote many books on the subject. The specific division of the elements of a memory palace in my own take, admittedly I do not know too much about any of this, but I was hoping to make this post anyway and see what someone could make of it. 

Spatial memory is obviously going to be important with regards to designing and using a memory palace. An author that I will not mention... Well actually he was the guy who wrote Maps of Meaning, but I am not in agreement with absolutely everything that he says. For instance, his protest of the use of gender pronouns in the name of freedom of speech was quite silly, and in fact invalidating for the transgender community, and I do not condone that. At the same time, I do not buy into the other idea that all of his work is utter gibberish, a stance that some people stand by. His work is a mixed bag. I contrasted the titular maps of meaning with memory palaces, and it seems that they both fundamentally rely on differences between values, and spatial memory respectively. Hypothetically both latter terms generally feel to me like they are the same. 

As for the design of the memory palace itself, why, it can be any location that you wish; fictional, natural or real. The problem is knowing the architecture of the fictional place, as I know that people on here are really into fandoms and that is inevitable. A historical-mythical anecdote is the Temple of Solomon and the fascination that Europeans such as Isaac Newton had with its layout as described in the Old Testament of the Bible. Idk, but at least we have those cross section books now, so it should be much easier. Either that or you can design it yourself in your mind, on paper, in Minecraft or using Lego Digital Designer. Yes, that software is still my favorite Lego CAD (computer aided design) despite having not used it in years. 

In terms of icons that populate the memory palace, they could be construed as NPCs or something that you could potentially generate by listing out human emotions, and more importantly how people express them. There is a field called Kinesics (not kinesthetics as I almost typed) and this deals with body motion and expression, but keep in mind that this is advanced college-level stuff. It could be used to image various body movements for these NPCs and enable a very vivid experience. Again, although I want to spur interest in the transformation of the Dark Academia community into a Lay Renaissance; the method of accomplishing this is to “ditch the aesthetic,” a tag I have appended to this post, and start reading classic texts, at the same time I do not want to be responsible for a bunch of teenagers and children getting into subjects that are either occult related, or too dense for them to understand properly. (I think I’ll make another post about the “ditch the aesthetic” movement eventually.) This distinction is of great importance to me, and I hope that whoever is reading this can appreciate that. 

I do not know the intricacies of reality shifting, so I will not talk about that today. You probably know much more that I do about it, and although I do not entirely agree, I can respect what you believe. 

The last thing that I have to say, or, two things, is that if you accentuate your the things you want to remember with strong emotion, then those things will be more conducive to be remembered. The same thing applies to memory palaces and reality shifting. This advice was stated by Giordano Bruno himself in one of his books, which name I unfortunately can’t recall. 

Lastly, if the whole reality shifting thing gets too intense for you, I’d recommend just leaving the community, or more realistically just sitting on the sidelines and taking in some of the positivity emitted from the community, as I have seen some of the posts on here and they look like they do that. I don’t want to stir up any controversy, but if you have constructive criticism I would love to hear it in the comments. I don’t personally think that disagreement needs to be angry, as that just isn’t really feasible in terms of the proper functioning of society. Conversation and the exchange of ideas is better than being angry, and I hope that I have been civil enough in writing this. Sorry that this whole essay was so long in the first place; if you read all of this, I commend you. 

[reverseopossum]

I have such a ridiculous, ass-backwards learning style that I’m just now, at the end of a doctoral program, figuring out how it works and how to roll with it.

I’ve always had a really solid intuition for verbal reasoning. Growing up, I didn’t get why reading comprehension was such a big deal, I just assumed anyone who could read would think the questions were easy. I’m pretty good at logic puzzles and riddles, and great at taking standardized tests. Any time I hear, “it’s not a test you can really study for,” I know I’ll do well. I like learning about philosophy and world religions partly because I have an easy time putting myself in a different frame of reference and trying out abstract reasoning from that perspective. I can write papers you would never know were written the night before with little to no editing.

But for anything rote, I know I need to allow 2-3x as much study time as most of my friends. Memorization just takes me a long time for some reason. If it involves any element of spatial visualization, it’s more like 5-6x. I’m pretty sure I have some level of aphantasia, where I just don’t visualize images as clearly as most people. I don’t have a sense of where I am when I drive, to get anywhere without my phone I have to memorize step-by-step instructions like I’m memorizing a recipe, and hope I don’t forget a step.

For hands-on tasks, I literally just don’t learn them kinesthetically: I have to know the exact rationale of what I’m trying to accomplish with a certain movement, and reverse-engineer my hand placement and body mechanics from that.

But wait, reversopossum, aren’t you a PT? Isn’t the schooling for that, like, mostly memorizing a buttload of anatomy, visualizing things spatially, and learning to do hands-on tasks? Yep. I started the program confidently after getting the highest GRE score in my class, and then spent the entire first semester scrambling for a backup plan if I failed out. It’s gotten better since then (especially now that it’s all clinical reasoning and applying what we learned in the first two years), but it’s been a struggle. I stuck with it because PT is frickin awesome, and because I had the psych background and tutoring experience to realize I could probably make it work.

In anatomy, I would get good scores on the lab tests (where I was actually looking at a physical cadaver), but absolutely could not deal with the way our professor wrote his lecture tests. Even though he was a great teacher. Even though most of my classmates did well on his tests and felt like they were fair. Because it was all spatial. I passed anatomy by, I shit you not, writing out the things I needed to know for the test, creating a bunch of mnemonic devices in order to memorize my own study guide word for word, regurgitating the mnemonic devices on the back of the test, and then using that as a cheat sheet to help with visualization. 

But then, as soon as we were applying what we learned in anatomy, I didn’t have a problem with it. Just like how when I was learning Spanish, I would consistently fail this one specific type of quiz where we had to fill out a table with verb conjugations, but still got an A in the class because I had no problem using them in a sentence. It was weird, man.

And sometimes the way I learn is literally backwards. I find myself using the practical implications to remember the piece of foundational knowledge instead of the other way around. Instead of thinking, “C7 nerve root innervates the triceps, so C7 is needed to lock the elbow in extension for weight bearing, therefore C7 is an important level for mobility and independent transfers,” I’ll think, “Oh, I remember C7 is an important level for transfers. That must mean it’s the one that does elbow extension. So it innervates the triceps.” Which works fine, but makes it really hard to benefit from most study resources.

Idk, PT school is a straight-up marathon of cramming information into your brain and hoping it stays there. Any neurodivergence or other barriers to learning are instantly front-and-center of your awareness. If I hadn’t gone this route, I probably never would have realized how unusual my learning style actually is.

[arilies]

Mercury and Learning Style

*Survey Results*

The four main learning styles are Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic. There are different systems for learning style, but most seem to be some variation of these. In terms of these, I don’t think that there’s any strong trend in regard to where one’s Mercury is placed by sign or house. There were, however, a few signs who seemed to struggle with a certain learning style, and I’ll make note of those. There were also interesting little idiosyncrasies that I noticed, and I’ll be making note of those as well. I decided against doing a post on learning style for each element, and I’ll be writing about the Fire Mercuries again here. I’m literally just going to copy and paste what I wrote before.

Just because I don’t mention a specific learning style with a sign doesn’t mean that they can’t learn that way. Every sign mentioned every learning style, and it’d be redundant to rewrite that for every sign.

There were responses for every sign that said they learn best when they’re interested in the topic. 

If you want to know why it is that I have come to some of these conclusions, or if there is anything specific you wanted to know regarding this question on the survey, feel free to ask and I’ll let you know! For the sake of making the writing smoother I’ll be mostly making statements. 

Aries Mercury

♈︎ Aries Mercuries have trouble with listening and auditory learning. Only one respondent stated that they learned in an auditory way. Many others said that they have difficulty listening; it goes in one ear and out the other.

♈︎ They generally prefer independent learning, but there are a few exceptions. One being that they like having someone demonstrate what they are learning. Another is that they do well with one on one learning, such as tutoring.

♈︎ They like things to be short and to the point. If you take too long to say something you’re going to lose them.

♈︎ They enjoy hands on learning and learning by doing

♈︎ They learn best when information is presented in a fun, unusual, or exciting way.

♈︎ Writing things down helps them remember information

Taurus Mercury

♉︎ Taurus Mercuries like repetition, whether that means writing something down repeatedly, saying something out loud repeatedly, hearing something repeated, etc.

♉︎ They like “practical” learning, which I think means hands on. They aren’t the only ones to write practical, but I thought it was an interesting choice of words. If you’re one of the people who told me that they learn in a practical way, Taurus Mercury or not, I’m very interested in hearing what you meant!

♉︎ They learn slowly, but they’re effective. In other words, it may take them a while to learn something, but once they’ve learned it, they’ve learned it.

Gemini Mercury

♊︎ Gemini Mercuries like to be able to fiddle with things or move around while they’re learning or studying. They have a much harder time if they have to sit still.

♊︎ Saying things out loud helps them.

♊︎ They like discussion and debates, and they find it valuable to hear others’ points of view. Talking about different approaches really helps them learn.

♊︎ They like seeing examples before trying things, or trying things and working them out on their own before working with others.

♊︎ They like quiet music in the background

Cancer Mercury

♋︎ Cancer Mercuries learn best when they can connect emotionally to a subject, or when the subject gets an emotional reaction out of them. It doesn’t matter what the emotion is.

♋︎ Cancer Mercuries also like repetition

♋︎ They flop like fish 

♋︎ They like to write while listening to something, but they don’t like to learn by just listening.

♋︎ They benefit from seeing an example before trying it themselves

Leo Mercury

♌︎ At least 6 Leo Mercuries specifically said that they learn best with a mixture of auditory+something else concurrently. For example, listening and writing at the same time, or listening and doodling. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s just so interesting to me that that many had such a similar answer.

♌︎ Leo Mercuries like hands on learning and learning by doing.

♌︎ Many Leo Mercuries also stated that they like repetition when learning.

♌︎ Like Aries Mercuries, they write to remember information.

♌︎ They repeatedly specified that they need to be interested in the subject matter if they want to learn it.

♌︎ Leo Mercuries are very visual learners. One or two in every house stated that they learned best visually.

♌︎ 8th House Leo Mercuries expressed more of a desire and/or tendency to throw themselves into research than other Leo Mercuries. I noticed this trend with the other Mercury signs as well.

♌︎ 1st House Leo Mercuries wrote that they specifically like learning and working alone than the other Leo placements. Again, I noticed this trend with other Mercury signs.

Virgo Mercury

♍︎ Virgo Mercuries don’t like deadlines. They like to work at their own pace, and in a low pressure environment.

♍︎ They also like graphs, diagrams, spreadsheets, etc. They’re very visual learners in this way.

♍︎ More than one noted that information just comes to them naturally and without them having to put much effort into it. One of those was a 12th House Mercury, and the other was a 1st House Mercury. That was not the norm for Virgo Mercuries, but it was very interesting.

♍︎ If they’re in the right mood, they can go for marathon study sessions.

♍︎ They like knowing the “why” behind things

♍︎ They ask lots of questions in general.

♍︎ They are detail oriented

♍︎ They like seeing examples and observing

♍︎ Some like music while studying, and some like total silence.

Libra Mercury

♎︎ Like Virgo Mercuries, Libra Mercuries are visual learners in the sense that they like charts and graphs.

♎︎ They really like writing their notes in different colors, color coding in general, and highlighting things.

♎︎ They like to immerse themselves in the learning process

♎︎ They like discussion and debate as well as teaching or helping others

♎︎ Sometimes they like learning/studying with other people to stay focused

Scorpio Mercury

♏︎ Scorpio Mercuries are very aware of the environment that they’re learning in. They prefer casual, comfortable environments where they feel safe making mistakes.

♏︎ 3rd House Scorpio Mercuries liked learning things step by step more than other Scorpio Mercuries.

♏︎ Like Aries and Cancer, they generally aren’t the best auditory learners.

Sagittarius Mercury

♐︎ I had 68 responses from Leo Mercuries, and 50 from Sagittarius Mercuries, but the responses to this question for Leo Mercury took up about a page and a half, whereas the responses for Sagittarius Mercury took up nearly five pages. So that should tell you something.

♐︎ Sagittarius Mercuries like having examples. It seems to really help them to have someone to watch while they’re learning.

♐︎ Their learning style is more auditory than Aries and Leos

♐︎ Interaction while learning is important to them. It would be hard for them to sit back and not ask questions.

♐︎ They like hands on learning and learning by doing.

♐︎ They also like learning with repetition.

♐︎ They prefer to be shown an example of how to do something instead of having it explained to them.

♐︎ They like to ask questions and understand “Why”

♐︎ They like teachers that are entertaining and funny.

♐︎ 5th House Sagittarius Mercuries have trouble with math. They were the only Sagittarius Mercuries who made note of this.

♐︎ They like to experience things to learn them. Walking through things step by step, and really getting to where they understand those steps and the point behind them helps. Expanding on this, figuring out how to apply the information helps them understand the information itself.

♐︎ The trend of 1st house Mercuries preferring to work independently continues here.

Capricorn Mercury

♑︎ They like to work with or learn from experts. They were the only sign that said anything like this!

♑︎ They like to engage, whether it’s with a teacher or a group of friends, if it’s worthwhile. Other than that, they prefer doing their own thing.

♑︎ Repetition

♑︎ They like manuals, textbooks, workbooks, etc. 

Aquarius Mercury

♒︎ Interestingly, they also learn through emotion. More than one mentioned it, and other than Cancer and Pisces, no other signs mentioned emotions, so I’m counting it. To the Aquarius Mercury who wrote that you learn best through emotional hurt: Are you okay? I’m honestly a bit concerned about your school experience.

♒︎ Aquarius Mercuries like having someone or something to hold them accountable. For instance, studying with a friend might keep them focused. They may doodle or take notes to stay engaged in class. I’m not an Aquarius Mercury, but I switch between print and cursive while I’m taking notes to keep myself from zoning out, and that reminds me of this.

♒︎ They also want to know “why”

♒︎ Although it was only one response that mentioned it, this was the only sign to have someone mention the internet and apps with learning style.

♒︎ They also like feeling immersed.

♒︎ They like diagrams, drawing, and visual learning.

Pisces Mercury

♓︎ Every sign had people who said that they had to be interested to learn something, but Pisces Mercuries gave the most consistent reason for this. They really have a hard time paying attention/staying engaged/not drifting off when they don’t have an interest.

♓︎ They also learn best when they can connect emotionally to or empathize with the topic at hand

♓︎ They have a tendency to remember random or extra information

♓︎ Immersion

[madamewriterofwrongs]

5, 6, 23, and 25!

Thank you, dearest one <3

5. What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

Evan freaking Buckley. We all know I’m the Chimney of the group and I love that, but when I’m writing about Buck, it is so easy for me to project my insecurities and my ambitions onto that puppy. 

Not bad people, just bad parents. Loves to shower people with love but also takes their criticisms to heart and stews. Covers intimacy issues with another physical activity. Found their purpose in life and forced to face losing it forever because of something out of their control. No life outside of work. Surprisingly curly hair. The list goes on.

The reason Show and Tell had to take a hiatus was because that story is about Buck recognizing and finding tactics to deal with his insecurities. This bitch is not mentally prepared for that at the moment. 

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

I mean, right at this very moment: no one. Writing is not a fun activity and I really wish it was. I liked writing the 911 characters in more upbeat and scenarios where they got to be goofy or outlandish. Writing drunk scenes for the crew was enjoyable because it’s something I crave from the show: more comradery and comedy. Figuring out the different drunk personalities and how they would all interact with one another was a hoot. The different dynamics with all the people was what I enjoyed more than any individual character. The way people change when they’re with different people is super interesting to me. 

23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

LEGENDARY!

I wrote the first iteration of Legendary in my Grade 8 science class when we were doing space study and I was bored. I filled a notebook with my tiny printed narration about a group of girls who were reincarnated to a place (suspiciously similar to my home town), and they were battling an evil that had followed them across time while trying to maintain a normal life, and sometimes, they died and got replaced. 

The story has changed A LOT from location to characters and motivations and plot. But the concept has stayed the same. 

I wrote the latest version for NaNoWriMo 2019 and put a 52k dent in it (there’s still about 1/3 of the story left to write and lots of changes but the fact that I finally put it down in writing is a huge win for me). 

Publishing Legendary specifically is on my bucket list. Like, yes, I want to publish a novel. But before I die, I will send this monster into the world for two people to read. 

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

(MADS!)

I actually really do like writing dialogue. It’s easy for me. I think, if I wasn’t so in love with the limitless nature of novels over scripts, I would be writing those instead. The reason I tend to write dialogue first, is because I can hear them first. I can embody the characters and find their personalities and their actions through how they interact with one another. 

I guess that’s similar to why I liked writing the 911 crew as a unit. Because it’s a look at their dynamics through their words. Huh.

Yeah, I guess I use dialogue as a character study. Once that’s on the page (once I can hear the scene), I can then picture it much easier than if I were switching between dialogue and action all the time. Which is strange because in terms of learning, I am kinesthetic first, then a weird combination of visual and auditory where my auditory comprehension is shit unless accompanied by a visual. Brains are weird. 

Meta Writer Ask

[armsdealing]

of all the gods i could associate with charles (and i used to spend decent amounts of time coming up with these assocations for my characters in the past), hephaestus has always been the most fitting one and the one I am most fond of (his board on pinterest is even named after heph!). it was harder to gauge why back then when I wrote charles as younger than he is; you would have expected for the fight/combat aspect of his character to be highlighted, and for him to be some kind of warrior god, rather than me focusing on the craftsmanship aspect, but I've always seen that part of him as more important, even if fighting is such a pervasive element of his story. charles has always been a tinkerer, he likes to break things apart to then put them back together because that is how he understands the world around him, and he likes to create and design and engineer. he's a hands on individual and kinesthetic learner, and that's all things I associate with heph too, and in turn why I really associate hephaestus with charles. there's also, of course, the conflictive relationship they've got with their parents, and something that helped seal the deal for me too – the seeming status as an outsider among the other gods. from my reading, people (and gods) like to single Hephaestus out for a variety of reasons, from being the 'ugly' one to the 'imperfect' (due to his disability) one to the humiliation he suffered by being thrown off mt olympus (twice), and almost dying (twice), because gods aren't meant to be or experience any of that. and that's something that really resonates, and something key to, I guess, my characterization. you can easily interpret Heph as being a bit alienated from the other gods, despite the fact that he works for them so often and so closely. there's a level of distance, but rather than find resentment in this, hephaestus actively embraces it. I see Hephaestus as perfectly comfortable with his (as others call them) "imperfections". he does not hide them, he does not shy away from them, and insults in regards to any of them do not faze him. as a result, others either respect him or just try to stay away. and both of those things suit him just fine — he has a reclusive personality and likes to pour his time onto his work, and does not concern himself with the opinions of others. heph doesn’t really give a fuck about what anyone thinks.