#disclaimer: i'm no expert

[slimybeth69]

That sent before I was done typing lol… but I do love Girl Dinner, I discovered it this week and it’s amazing. I was also going to ask you if you had any general advice for how to deal with “going through it.” I was scrolling through your blog and saw the anon who asked about it your work involves writing. your reply was heartening.. I had a little menty b and haven’t worked in nearly 4 months. It’s been hard turning it around. My brain is ALL over the place. 🫠 it’s really really really really nice to feel less alone in there though.

I'm keeping your other ask in my inbox so I can look at it all the time.

Thank you for loving Girl Dinner!! I'm so glad you're enjoying that wild ass ride lmao. I'm HOPING to get the next chapter up by monday-- but don't hold me to that or even remember I said that.

First and foremost, I'm so sorry you're going through it. I'm always, always here to talk if you ever needed an ear to vent to or a virtual shoulder to cry on.

My biggest piece of advice is don't put a timeline on your progress. Don't compare your healing journey to anyone else's. You are an unique and the way you heal is going to be different from everyone else.

Here are some things I did to make day-to-day shit easier.

focus on today. don't think about tomorrow too much or it starts to feel tunnel vision-y.

do one thing for yourself every single day. This is FREE, btw. (clean your room, brushing your hair, cleaning under your finger nails (you don't even have to get out of bed for this one, so this is an easy, what I call a 'push day' treat), changing into clean clothes, changing your bed sheets)

DON'T LET YOUR MENTAL EFFECT YOUR DENTAL. Having clean teeth is such a good feeling, and it's such an easy thing to overlook when you're going through it. Force yourself to brush your teeth everyday or you'll be more miserable because of your teeth problems. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take care of your teeth!!!!!!

Don't deny yourself <- sometimes it can be hard to leave the house or get out of bed-- but don't deny yourself pleasures because of this. Even if you're unable to do the 'thing'-- be kind to yourself for even trying.

Try. Try. Try. Try. Try. You will not always succeed but you will feel so much better at the end of the day knowing you at least thought about it than if you ignored it completely (whatever 'it' is.)

Talk. I already told you that I'm here and I genuinely mean that. I know having access to a therapist isnt something everyone has, so I won't tell you to just go out and get one. And talking to friends about this shit can be scary. but I'm here-- and I mean it. (anon or not- talk about it)

dont get discouraged. I know it's so much easier said than done, SO MUCH EASIER but try to remember what I said before all of this-- your journey is different and your timeline is different.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF. Forgive yourself if you can't try, be patient with yourself when you're feeling discouraged. Understand that this is your first time on this floating rock in space and you're just figuring it out-- like the rest of us. None of us have the answer key, none of us have a cheat sheet you don't have.

I really, really hope this helps you-- even a little bit! I'm not an expert (obviously) on mental health. But I would say that the biggest and most important part is that last bit-- patience and forgiveness with your heart and your brain.

I isolated myself in my house for almost 5 months-- I barely went outside, didn't work, lost a lot of my friends-- but it got me writing fan fiction, and on tumblr, and to share my story (which I didn't really ever think I would do).

and hey!!!

Connecting over our shared menty-b's like some baddies.

SERIOUSLY THOUGH!! I hope you find some comfort in what I said because all those things helped me tremendously. I still am currently struggling but it's gotten so much easier since I started opening up and forgiving myself and being more patient in knowing it doesn't change overnight.

I LOVE YOU ANON!!! I REALLY DO!!

[wombywoo]

retro 🪖

[themadwomanherself]

I see so much of the kny fight about Michikatsu's ex-wife and I'm just standing there like🧍🏼‍♀️ cause wtf is going on?!?

Anyway, my reason for this post is because I saw someone on Twitter mention how they would rather not use Michi's ex's stand in name, Haruhime, given how much baggage that name has. And I've seen other's mention how it really doesn't suit her. I can't say for sure on the latter, but I can agree on the former.

And though I have used that name as a placeholder myself, I do like the idea of a different name for her, but I'm not the biggest fan of Aohizan, which is supposedly another name people use?

Eh, my interaction with the kny community is limited, so I don't really know much or what kind of drama is spreading around. I mainly stick to here or gorge myself on fanfics or create too many fanfic ideas.

So, I made my own; Aohiri.

I like the Ao part, which means blue, but wasn't a fan of the hizan part, which I have no idea what that portion is supposed to mean.

As for what Aohiri means; Ao means blue, hi means light, and ri means white jasmine, which can mean a lot of things, but often elegance, femininity, purity, graceful, and delicate beauty.

What do your guys think? Do you guys have your own names for Michi's ex-wife or do you keep her nameless or use Haruhime?

[wonder-worker]

Why was empress Mathilda not able to become the ruler?

Hi! There were lots of reasons, and historians have gone back and forth between them over the years. I am not an expert at all, but the way I see it, it was a combination of factors - be it social, structural, or plain bad luck - that resulted in Matilda's inability to claim the throne of England. To list a few I think were relevant:

Misogyny. After his son's death in 1120, Henry I's first instinct doesn't seem to have been to name his daughter his heir but instead to conceive another son with his second wife Adeliza of Louvain. William of Malmesbury wrote that the lords swore to accept Matilda as their sovereign only if Henry I died without a male heir; John of Worcester wrote that Henry designated Matilda as heir as "he had as yet no legitimate heir to the kingdom", implying that Matilda would be the one to provide that heir (ie: a son); and it seems that some of Matilda's supporters like Robert of Gloucester stressed the claims of infant Henry (the future Henry II) from the onset. Some historians have argued that Henry I wished to live long enough to transfer the kingdom and duchy to his eldest grandson, though this is of course mere speculation and Matilda would have been her father's immediate successor for the foreseeable future regardless. So even during Henry I's life, while Matilda was named heir and was expected to inherit & rule England, her exact situation appears to have been complex, and her gender was - directly or indirectly - at the heart of the complication.

Moreover, during the Anarchy, while Stephen technically did not justify or defend his claim to the throne explicitly because of his gender, there was clearly public debate over female succession at that time: for example, Matilda's illegitimate brother Robert of Gloucester was known to reference the Bible, where the Book of Numbers depicted God sanctioning female inheritance when there were no sons. This indicates that Matilda faced opposition from enemy quarters specifically for those reasons. Also, during Matilda's brief assumption of power as a female king, gendered ideals of masculinity/femininity and kingship/queenship entirely dictated public response to her and shaped her negative reputation.

Xenophobia. The Normans and Angevins were historic enemies, and many nobles were incredibly worried about Matilda’s second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet becoming king. I don't think it's a surprise that the Gesta Stephani repeatedly called Matilda "Countess of Anjou" or emphasized the presence of "Angevin knights" among her entourage. This had something to do with gendered expectations as well, but it was also likely meant to highlight Matilda's presumed foreignness, despite the fact that she was a princess of England by birth.

Complicated inheritance patterns. Succession in England, both before and after the Norman Conquest, was incredibly tricky. I'm not even going to get started on the Anglo-Saxons, but going by William the Conqueror's children: his eldest son rebelled against him, his second son inherited while keeping the eldest one imprisoned for life, and was in turn most likely murdered by the third son, who also kept the eldest son imprisoned for life. Hereditary claims were thus overridden in both cases. As Charles Beem points out in the Lioness Roared about Matilda's own father: "Henry I promoted a system of lineal inheritance based on a firm rule of primogeniture [for his children]. However, his own legitimacy as king was not based on this principle, a concept that infiltrated Anglo-Norman inheritance practices during his reign. Instead, he based his self-representation as a legitimate king on a medieval hodge-podge of justifications: porphyrogeniture, or having been “born to the purple” after his father had become king of England, sacralization from his anointing and consecration, and the acclamation of the people: Finally, Henry I secured papal recognition for his title, and convinced Pope Calixtus II to reject the claims of William Clito, the son of Henry’s eldest brother Robert Curthose, in effect dealing a severe blow to the legitimacy of primogeniture." So even in an ideal scenario, the idea of a designated heir and eldest child succeeding without hindrance would have been unusual. Unfortunately, this was not an ideal scenario by any circumstances.

Also, England seems to have functioned with an interregnum at that time, meaning that Matilda would not have been immediately considered ruler upon her father's death. To quote Beem: "To become king of England in the year 1135 required positive, immediate action; although the theory of the king’s two bodies had already begun to develop, the idea that an immediate succession occurred upon the death of a king had not. Instead, an interregnum occurred, which ended only when the crown was placed on the next king’s head. This had been the case with William Rufus’s accession in 1087 and that of Henry I in 1100, both of whom overrode the hereditary claims of William the Conqueror’s eldest son Robert Curthose. Although Matilda had received oaths to support her candidacy, the oaths in themselves did not make her king. Like her uncle and her father before her, Matilda needed to be physically present in London, to receive formal homage from her tenants-in-chief, to accept the acclamation of the people, and to be anointed and crowned in Westminster by the archbishop of Canterbury". I think the first heir to be regarded as king despite not being physically present in the country was Edward I in 1272 - a while away. Which brings me to...

Bad Luck. At the time of her father's death, Matilda wasn't in England or Normandy. She seems to have left her father's court after a disagreement where he refused to be reconciled with William Talvas without punishing him despite Matilda's wishes on the contrary. As Robert of Torigny notes, in the end of 1135, "the empress Matilda, who he [Henry I] had long before appointed heir to his realm, was staying in Anjou with her husband count Geoffrey and her sons"; William of Malmesbury likewise stated that she was staying in France “for certain reasons.” The fact that Matilda wasn't physcally present made it easy for Stephen and the nobles to sideline her and overrule Henry I's appointment.

Matilda was also pregnant at the time, and it's possible that this prevented her for making the crossing, either due to physical reasons (we know she nearly died during her second childbirth) or due to ideological ones (she may have "considered such a state to be a liability in constructing herself as a viable contender for an office essentially gendered male", as Beem speculates).

An insufficient power base: Yet another one of her misfortunes was the fact that Henry I seems to have withheld his daughter's dowry till the end of his life. For example, Torigny writes that "the king was unwilling to do the fealty required by his daughter and her husband for all castles in Normandy and in England". Nor does Henry seem to have associated her with direct kingly governance during his life that could have made the transition to rulership more natural for her and for English & Norman magnates. This meant that Matilda and Geoffrey didn't seem to have had a solid power base to rely on at the time of her father's death with which she could directly launch her claim. It's no surprise that their first move was to try and secure her dowry castles (Exmes, Domfront, Argentan, Ambrières, Gorron, Colmont, etc), and that Matilda installed herself in one of them.

And, of course, Matilda's ultimate bad luck was the existence of a rival claimant (Stephen) with sufficient resources and backing who chose to press his own - theoretically inferior - claim. Ultimately, after the majority of nobles sided with or acquiesced to Stephen, Matilda's doors were shut - without tangible support, she was stuck. It's not surprising that it was only after Stephen began to alienate his followers (particularly Robert of Gloucester, who had initially supported him) a few years later that Matilda got an opportunity to press home her advantage.

Hope this helps!

[mycenaae]

btw people still often treat the north like a Great Unpopulated Unknown that only the white man can truly understand through "exploration". there's a reason that our last conservative prime minister was obsessed with the franklin expedition, there's a reason that northern communities receive so few resources & support and are subjected to some of the worst resource exploitation. there's a reason that the north is considered to be a politically important area but that the people of inuit nunangat are so undervalued & undersupported by the same federal government that wants access to their land. and plus ça change much of this is true for the south as well when it comes to how governments & settlers treat indigenous peoples but it's just wild seeing people treat it still like it's terra nullius, from the canadian federal government to the usamerican annexation dreams to the fucking terror fandom acting like people don't still live there to this very day. like it's just the spot where their blorbos were gay

[rustedleopard]

Headcanon: Starlo does know some Japanese from being friends with Ceroba and hanging around her/being taught by her. He's definitely not as good as Ceroba is at it (and even Ceroba's Japanese isn't all that spectacular because monsterkind being trapped underground for who knows how many centuries has caused information like foreign languages to be lost to time. She's conversationally fluent). Unfortunately, Starlo understands it better than he speaks/reads it and his pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired. The best way to put it is that it sounds pretty similar to Yokohama Pidgin Japanese.

[taryn40k]

space s'mores time! :D

If you have always wondered what a bonfire night looks like for cross-chapters neophytes, here it is! :D Chapter 2 of the Deathwatch Daycare is out! It's light, it's silly, it's fun, and it's... full of intrigue?? And snacks! Oh baby! :D

[bookwyrminspiration]

I think I’ve asked you this before, but I have another question about elf babies. Since elf babies can talk, do you think they develop fully formed ears like weirdly early in the womb? Oh and do you think they come out with teeth?

At the very least elves have to be born with the motor skills to control the muscles used to talk, right?

Many thoughts, so little answers.

Shannon's "elves speak from birth" thing to fix Sophie's language barrier when she moved truly is the gift that keeps on giving. And it's so funny because she's literally also a polyglot. She didn't even have to do it; yeah, Sophie hadn't manifested yet, but hear me out!

I personally think it'd be simpler to have her manifest her polyglotism upon hearing Fitz speak enlightened to her for the first time, then she'd have no language barrier when moving, we'd avoid all the unintended side-effects of an instinctual elven language, and! Then it'd add a bit of mystery and suspicion as to why she's both a polglot and a telepath. Because yeah, polyglots are primed for two abilities, but with everything else weird about her...idk man...! sets us up foreshadowing her other abilities

Anyway. I don't know about baby ear formation, but, I'd imagine they develop the same? They don't need them any earlier. it's not like they're having a chat in-utero.

As for the teeth, which we can never escape from, canonically they do. Because there was no mention of Sophie being born with teeth, and we can assume it'd be brought up as one of the weird elven things Forkle had to explain away otherwise.

This does imply that the elven language does not use sounds involving the teeth (labiodentals like f, interdentals like th), which isn't unrealistic. However, lots of (most if not all) other sounds use the teeth indirectly on account of you make sounds in your mouth/vocal tract and your teeth are also always in your mouth. So this complicates things

unless there's different like. i can't think of the right word. forms? of the language. as in children speak a version of enlightened, then when they grow up and get the teeth, they speak a different version.

and yes they'd need to be able to skillfully manipulate the articulators (i.e. tongue, lips, velum, vocal folds) in order to control the sounds they're making and produce speech.

many thoughts, a few musings and answers :)

[czerwonykasztelanic]

asking you your "top 5" anything: (persons with rabbit pfps) Lenin quotes

5. "Things are harder for our generation than they were for our fathers. But in one respect we are luckier than our fathers. We have begun to learn and are rapidly learning to fight [...] We are fighting better than our fathers did. Our children will fight better than we do, and they will be victorious." (from The Working Class and NeoMalthusianism - the past must not eclipse the present, nor should it be seen as superior the future, for a new world will come!)

4. "The sacrifices of the Commune, heavy as they were, are made up for by its significance for the general struggle of the proletariat: it stirred the socialist movement throughout Europe, it demonstrated the strength of civil war, it dispelled patriotic illusions, and destroyed the naïve belief in any efforts of the bourgeoisie for common national aims. [...] The lesson learnt by the proletariat will not be forgotten. The working class will make use of it, as it has already done in Russia during the December uprising. [...] And although these magnificent uprisings of the working class were crushed, there will be another uprising, in face of which the forces of the enemies of the proletariat will prove ineffective, and from which the socialist proletariat will emerge completely victorious." (from Lessons of the Commune - when reactionary forces temporarily triumph over world-historical progress, to assert that failed revolutions are revolutions nonetheless is to avoid despair)

3. "One of the biggest and most dangerous mistakes made by Communists is the idea that a revolution can be made by revolutionaries alone." (Popular support! The vanguard must be firmly rooted in the masses to wield legitimate power! Thermidorrrrr)

2. "I must say that the tasks of the youth in general [...] might be summed up in a single word: learn." (from his speech to the Youth Leagues; ever time I question the importance of education and self-improvement, every time the pursuit of knowledge appears to me a futile and vainglorious squandering of time, I remember that it is not just a right, but a duty - even if it's as trivial as, I don't know, reading the procès-verbal of the National Convention from June 1794)

1. "[...] there is nothing more dangerous than illusions (and vertigo, particularly at high altitudes). Communists who have no illusions, who do not give way to despondency, and who preserve their strength and flexibility "to begin from the beginning" over and over again in approaching an extremely difficult task, are not doomed (and in all probability will not perish)." (from On Ascending a High Mountain; predictably enough, I have a certain weakness for geographical metaphors...)

[warrior-of-storms]

Alright gang why do we think Jason is Like That?

a) Former theater kid

b) Raised an only/youngest child and came back a middle child

c) Secret third thing

d) All of the above

[letapollojusticesayfuck]

A (Noncomprehensive) Guide to Zine Apps; or: How To Show You're Going To Be Good At The Specific Thing You're Applying For

There's been a lot of zines opening apps recently, and with that comes a lot of acceptances/rejections and questions on what applicants could do differently to finally get to be part of a project they're enthusiastic about. While I'm not some kind of all-knowing zine expert, I have been in a good handful so far, and so thought I could share some tips.

Read the Info Doc or Carrd for zine requirements and theming. Seems obvious, but this is always a good first step when you're thinking about applying for something. Think about how the zine's theme fits in with pieces you've already made--you'll have a harder time getting into a zine that's themed for something you've never written/made art for before than you will with a zine that fits with your typical works. These informational resources are also where you'll find the specs that you'll be expected to work to for the zine, which can then inform what example pieces you choose.

Choose your example pieces based on the zine's theming. What is the zine trying to accomplish? Which characters are going to be showcased? If you're applying to a zine all about platonic love, maybe don't have all three examples you provide be heavily shippy. If you're applying to a zine about women, make sure you've got some examples of writing/art that showcase you writing women! Personally, I never use the same combo of writing samples twice--I've got a pool of fics I pull from that are roughly in zine-wordcount-territory and I select them based on what the zine I'm applying to is about.

Make sure your examples show off the style you would be expected to create for the zine. This is where having read the info doc comes in! If you're applying as an artist, typically zines will expect art contributors to create pieces with full backgrounds. Make sure you've got at least one example in there of a piece that matches that description! For writers, usually the request will be to tell a complete story in anywhere from 1500-3000 words (depending on the zine), so keep a stash of oneshots within that word count ready to go to use as your writing samples. There's some other considerations, too--is this a fluffy, shippy zine? Maybe don't use your angstiest work in the application. Is this a serious, somber-toned zine? Think twice about including the comedy crackfic you're proud of as an example. Remember, the mods are looking for people to help bring their specific zine vision to life--you'll make their lives (and your own!) easier if you give them examples that already go along with that vision.

A coda to the last point: what if you don't have anything for that fandom written? While that's definitely a more difficult situation, there's ways around it: mainly, making extra sure your submissions hit on the tone of the zine. Are you applying for a ship zine but haven't ever written that ship before? Maybe use some pieces that feature the characters involved individually. Do you fully not have any works including the characters from the zine's fandom? Think about the kind of writing/art the zine wants you to create, and send in your best submissions having to do with those: for shippy zines, show that you can write/draw romantic scenes! For gen zines, choose your best character introspection moments, or anything that shows off the genre (lighthearted? comedy? angst?) best.

Don't rush things. Remember, apps are usually open for a while! If it's the beginning of the application period and you're not sure you've got any good examples to apply with, maybe send out a call for writing/drawing prompts and aim for that zine wordcount/art specs goal! Taking the extra time to make sure your examples are relevant will let you put in a much more curated application

At the end of the day, it's all just for fun. I know this sounds a bit like a PSA, but ultimately there are many reasons why people are rejected from zines, and they're not because of some personal failing--usually it'll be a case of many applicants and few spaces to fill. Don't be discouraged--there's always more projects coming along, and you can always find or found some other, non-application-based fandom events in the meantime!

Anyway--hope this was useful in some way to someone out there! I know zine rejections can be frustrating and a bit demoralizing, and I can assure you that I've definitely been right there with you. I definitely encourage trying to flesh out your portfolio of zine-styled pieces even when you're not actively writing or drawing for a zine--it'll give you more variety to pull from for apps in the future.

If you have any thoughts or questions, do feel free to send an ask or add them on to the post--as a writer, I mostly have writing-focused advice, but there may be some artists out there who've got art-specific tips too.

[morningstar-chronicles]

How do i shift?

hi friend! i talked a little bit about this here

[contagiouswatermelon]

its always annoying when you reblog something that on its own is normal and understandable, but then someone reblogs it from you and you know they're doing so for reasons which you directly oppose and that are a misinterpretation of the sentiment behind (why you reblogged) the post

[absolute-lithops-emotion]

reading a bunch of articles on phonics and whole word reading and listening to old vi hart videos in the background and realizing that if there's an equivalent to phonics for math, i don't think we get taught it

[anglerflsh]

re: your poetry post, can you give some pointers as to where to learn the rhyming patterns in poetry and the like? i only ever see poetry from the ideas/feelings perspective, but ive never learned the logic and structure behind it lol

I've learned most of it from my literature and grammar classes, it's taught in our school since elementary, so I wouldn't know of any books or manuals that talk specifially about it - but I can give you a rundown of how I do it, anon, if it counts for anything lol

Prefacing that this will be starting from italian poetica because that's what I know best: any poem, but specifically the pre-futurism/1910s ones (A Lot) will have some kind of structure aside from just the ryming scheme; The structure I am most familiar with is accentual-sillabic, so for example any single verso will have its stressed syllable in a fixed potision and occasionally a set number of sillables (eg. an endecasillablic metre means a stress on the tenth syllable, usually penultimate, equally to 11 total syllables), but there are also only accentual, or only sillabic verses, common in French poetry (?), all of which count as types of qualitative metre - as well as quantitative metre, which was more widley used in Latin and Greek poetry and which rather based itself on patterns of syllable weight (something that I know little about tbh; I think it's based on the lenght of pronunciation of the actual syllable).

this, of course, goes without even mentioning free-verse structure and less well-known ones.

Going back to the rhyming scheme, that also comes into play with structure in the sense that ... there are just a lot of them to pick from. The classic is the repeated AABB one, where each verse will rhyme with the one underneath (''kissing rhyme'' in italian), or the alterning ABAB, the crossed ABBA, the 'chained' or third rhyme ABA BCB CDC used for terzine, and plenty more! That's not all the ways to classify rhymes of course: you have plain rhyme between words accented on the penultimate syllable, cut rhyme between words accented on the last, sdrucciola with accents on the third-to-last, bisdrucciola on the fourth-to-last... etc etc

Then, of course, come the classifications in stanza lenghts! Groups of three verses are a terzina, well known for being Dante's favourite number (joke inserted to lighten this infodump), groups of four a quatrina, etc -

and depending on the number of single groups and on the type of verses in them, you have further classification as canzone, ode, madrigale, carme, filastrocca, ballata, sonetto... the latter for example is made of fourteen endecasyllabic verses grouped in two quartine, one in the beginning and one in the end, in crossed or alternate rhyme, and two terzine with any kind of rhyme structre.

this of course doesn't touch on the inner things and games of poem structure like the falling rhyme, spaces in between groups, enjambement, alliteration, allegorical figures, anafore, onomatopee, and all that fun stuff! Essentially when you see a poem look for the number of syllables in each verse, where the stressed syllable falls, how the rhymes are put, how many verses are in each stanza and strofa...

[thevalleyisjolly]

And what if I redesigned the monk class according to actual wuxia themes and tropes, what then. I simply think monks are cool and can absolutely be redeemed as a class once you take the Orientalism out of it and be a little more thoughtful about what fantasy martial arts are actually like in East Asian stories.