#full stack development blog

[divukanwar]

A commonly used stack for developing dynamic web apps is known as MEAN Stack Development. MEAN is an abbreviation that means MongoDB, Express.js, Angular.js, and Node.js. MongoDB, a NoSQL document-oriented database, Express.js, a web application framework, Angular.js, a front-end JavaScript framework, and Node.js, a server-side JavaScript runtime environment. MEAN Stand is a free stack of full technologies based on Java script designed for creating fast, safe, and expandable web apps. It is light in weight and allows developers to easily build sophisticated applications with a combination of diverse technologies. It helps in creating single-page apps, real-time apps, mobile applications, etc. MEAN stack development involves the use of fast and convenient ways to develop web applications.

The full-stack approach can create many new businesses compared to anything hitherto. Businesses can create their bespoke software or applications that is built based on multiple technologies and various types of frameworks. Using a stack approach, firms develop personalized solutions that place the business ahead of the competition. Furthermore, they will be able to scale up their applications rapidly without necessarily investing in any additional hardware or software. Full-stack development is also a cost-effective practice where organizations can leverage existing resources for optimal effect. Full-stack development is indispensable for the creation of new products and services, expansion of customer base, and increasing market share for business. The advantage of full-stack development is that it provides more business opportunities than ever before.

[studdyybudddyyy]

🫧 introduction 🫧

Hi!

Get to know me a little below <3

Name: Elif (random screenname I picked, similar enough to my actual name)

Pronouns: She/Elle

Age: Adult under 21

Languages: English (Standard, AAVE), French (Standard/Parisian)

Ethnicity/Religion/Etc: Black American (Northern Californian), Jewish (Ashki, Belarussian), Autistic, Bi

^I don't post about any of that here, but representation is important

Current Interests (I mostly post what's listed here):

Full-Stack Development, Linux, Python, C++, Cybersecurity, French & Russian (language study), Russian literature, Reading (generally), Poetry, Penmanship, Writing (Poetry), Fashion, Music (classical, instrumental, violin), and Shopping

Inactive Interests:

AC (New Horizons), The Sims 4, Hollow Knight, World of Warcraft, English literature, Cooking, Knitting, Sewing, and Violin (playing)

Tech/Apps/Sites I use & study with:

MacBook Air (Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon) and an iPad (iPadOS 16.2 + Apple Pen) .

GoodNotes, LibreOffice, Libby, Pinterest, and GoodReads.

Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, LearnPython, Cybrary, LeetCode, Github, and KeyHero.

For my non-tech studies I mostly just read books.

DNI / Preferred boundaries

Not Welcome Here:

TERFs, SWERFs, RadFems, EDblr (Any/All), Discourse blogs, Anti-Voting, Anti-Union, AI fanatics/Cryptocurrency users, Cops, Zionists, Antisemites, Incels/Femcels, Eugenicists of any kind.

DO NOT ASSUME I'M A FAN OF [Shitty People] NOT LISTED

Welcome here:

Pretty much everyone else

Boundaries for Interaction:

You're welcome to interact however you'd like!

Everything posted here is open for commentary/discussion and you're also welcome to speak with me directly through asks/dm about whatever as long as it's related to this blog and/or something posted on it. This is an entirely SFW space and minors are welcome to interact, however, please remember that we & everyone else here are strangers and do not share personal information with me or others interacting on my page.

If you're an NSFW blog please switch to a SFW account/blog to interact at all. If you interact using your NSFW account/blog I will assume you're doing so intentionally or a bot and you'll be blocked.

Accessibility:

🫧 I do not post any flashing videos or images.

🫧 I do not post any NSFW content.

🫧 I do not post vent posts, post/reblog about other's personal traumas, or post/reblog about The News (unless said news directly relates to one of the things in my current interests list).

🫧 I do not repost any kind of chainmail, positive or negative.

🫧 I do not share or make any content related to generally triggering subjects, if you have specific and/or uncommon trigger(s) but still want to follow/interact with my blog please let me know and I'll tell you whether or not my blog is a safe space for you.

🫧 I do not pathologize/ridicule/joke about OCD, NPD, BPD, ASPD, Bipolar 1/2, Psychosis (with any root cause), or any other mental health conditions; If I've posted/reblogged something that does so please alert me.

🫐 I do use tone tags (If I miss one please let me know) when discussing thoughts/feelings/comments.

🫐 If I for some reason post/reblog something that is commonly triggering or discusses something you as a follower/mutual have let me know triggers you it will be tagged to the best of my ability.

🫐 I do add alt-text to all of the photos I post.

🫐 I do my best to avoid posting/reblogging screenreader unfriendly posts but If something I posted messed with your screenreader anyway please tell me so I can do my best to remedy it.

🫐 I do respect & honor everyones pronouns, gender identity, and sexual/romantic orientation regardless of whether I personally understand it.

🫐 I do respond to all asks/messages but I'm busy so it may take time.

I am trying my best <3

If you have any accessibility requests for this blog or even this post specifically, please let me know and I will genuinely consider updating to include it if I can.

[hindintech]

11 key steps to getting your first job a web developer:

Step 1:- Make a portfolio of a few standout projects.

Step 2:- Build projects and add them to GitHub.

Step 3:- Prepare for technical interviews.

Step 4:- Network with other developers.

Step 5:- Learn new and relevant skills.

Step 6:- Define what kind of company or role you want.

Step 7:- Stay organized and track everything.

Step 8:- Write a meaningful resume and cover letter.

Step 9:- Start job hunt.

Step 10:- Interview even if not sure you're ready.

Step 11:- Avoid settling for less, and negotiate.

[the-software-engineers]

Python Decorators: A Beginner's Guide

[storyofmychoices]

PB shared the announcement on their blog.

I googled "Series Entertainment" and found article about this news and the article starts with:

Series Entertainment – itself a game development company that "pioneer[s] the use of generative AI to transform imaginative ideas into unforgettable gaming experiences" – says the acquisition "signifies Series' strategy to build out its studio system to deliver a diverse catalog of different genres that leverage its world class development technology, the Rho Engine", the world’s first "AI-native, multimodal full-stack game creation platform". [X]

And here is another article

Series Entertainment, a fast-growing AI game development company, has acquired interactive fiction mobile game studio Pixelberry.

From the companies website...

So basically we told Choices we didn't want AI and they sold the company to an AI entertainment company 🤦‍♀️

[centrally-unplanned]

3 questions:

What is it you like... do, where does all the political expertise come from?

Do you have a platonic ideal of city development and what is it?

What's your take on communitarians? I never got the basic intuition about what makes it appealing, honestly smells totalitarian

- I lie about having political expertise on the internet mainly, that is where the expertise comes from!

But otherwise I am an ex-political analyst/quasi-academic - I took many classes and read many books on the subject. And also blogs, which certainly used to be an incredibly good source for more "foundational" knowledge - still good ofc, but we are past the heyday of the blogosphere. I personally think there is no substitute for "reading a bunch of diverse books in sequence on a topic", not only because you learn about the subject but because you start to see all the diverse approaches to any subject and how to synthesize it all, which can be applied elsewhere.

My actual job these days is in higher education, I build courses, degrees, etc. It definitely is something that keeps me exposed to good info sources but it is not load-bearing on how I grow as a writer. It's true perk is giving me access to good scanning equipment for anime archiving.

- I don't "actually" have one as I think all city development should be organic and contextual, no two places should look identical. In particular you can't really force economies, the industries be where they are. Overall I think the key things are to reduce localism while preserving democratic engagement, so you build up a strong regional government with elected officials holding critical power that can't be overridden by institutional stakeholders so they can pursue majority-benefitting policies. To be more granular, I think diversity of housing options is perpetually underappreciated - you want neighborhoods having studios to 4 bedroom units to even detached homes as you trickle out from the metro stops all next to each other so you can cultivate local economies that cater to diverse crowds and governance units that are "full stack" on the people they need to support. This happens pretty organically without zoning restrictions - US cities just try very hard to force housing types into specific zones.

I do also support every city of a sufficient size having a Kowloon Walled City-esque hyperdense housing complex at their center as a "stopgap" housing option for anyone of any stripe who wants to come to the city and try their hand at it. I am not even joking on that.

-Definitely too diverse a field to have "one" take! So to paint a very broad brush, they are a classic "cause" ideology that hits on correct social problems but doesn't give their solutions the same treatment. It is true that no one is an island, that social dependence is endemic to modernity, that "we are all connected" and individualist decision-making results in suboptimal outcomes. And not only for "others", but even for the individual, the isolating anomie of modernity that everyone falls into is a legitimate problem. In the abstract "more community" can do a lot of good.

But once you move away from abstraction the grubby realities of implementing something like the Responsive Communitarian Platform it tends to fall apart. Individuals are not the best deciders for themselves, but they are typically better than the rest of the options on the table as flawed, biased, or openly hostile governing authorities are the only real alternative. Community orgs are often populated by niche interest groups and oddball activists as typical people are too buys living life to care. Welfare is typically better done by distant, standardized, centralized cash payments instead of a "community" with its fickle resources and personal agendas. And so on. Obviously community has its place, but it is a place that typically already exists - we have had say schools and school boards for a long time! So as a movement it tends to collapse back to good ol' incremental social liberalism as those are the only practical things it can offer.

(But again YMMV based on individual thinkers, a diverse field)

[rookfang]

*claps my hands together* So—

I've been sort of vaguely talking about rewriting Laika's backstory for a week or so, but I figured I would write out a step by step of what I want to do & how that will affect this blog.

ONE: As I've stated before, I am writing out the Mercar adoption plotline. This is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because I was never satisfied with it, and I had shoehorned it in in the first place. It's always kind of detracted from my Intended Laika Experience. As much as I love the character development work I put in there, it was never cohesive.

TWO: I am also editing bits and pieces of Laika's leaving the Threads plotline - just to make it a more active plotline as opposed to a passive one. This shouldn't change much for anybody. Currently, the about document has no backstory listed, but a few supplementary headcanons are linked for any new people who happen to stumble in.

THREE: As such, I will not be dropping plotted relationships. Mostly because they shouldn't be all too affected! We can always go over stuff in DMs if something comes up, and I do think a few threads will be retconned out, but nothing too drastic.

FOUR: I also have no plans to drop any replies I owe. I've yet to reach the critical mass where it's unmanageable, and I think I have a solid, concrete plan to get the ball rolling. That said, school is also getting busy, so all of this shall come at a snails pace.

FIVE: I wanted to say how absolutely grateful I am to y'all. This blog ( and everyone who has written with me ) has allowed me to explore Dragon Age in a way I haven't before. I love reading all your writings, I love seeing how we all interpret the text and how we can expand and play around in this space. I've been having the time of my life with you.

Thank you if you've read this far. Under the cut is going to be my like... personal guide for how I'm going to handle the rewrite.

THE PLAN: - Firstly, I am putting -100% pressure on myself to write replies. If I have the time and inspiration, I will, but combined with rewriting and some other projects, plus preparing for a month abroad in May/June, I have my plate stacked full. - I will spend at least 30 minutes each day working on the bio doc rewrite, barring any Insane Circumstances. - One thing I would like to do in the Bio Rewrite Phase is at least reply to asks, but I am not making that a guarantee. - I am also working on a full fanfiction, but that's very much a 'simmering in the background' kind of project. - Once the bio doc redo is completely, I'll transition that "at least 30 minutes each day writing" rule onto my replies. No obligation to finish writing anything, but at least enough to get ideas on the page. - Of course, during all of this, I'll be available in DMs / Discord for my mutuals. Talking about writing, for me, helps me actually write, so I always love stopping to chat.

and if you really got this far : a secret cat picture

[ixhika-jsx]

Ixhika's studyblr 𐙚 (introduction)

I started my studyblr not long ago then a week I guess ? No body knows bout me yet tho but that doesn't matter for me...what matters is that this is my blog - MY JOURNEY

Hey you all ,

Myself Ishika a.k.a eunhee

She/her - INFP - capricorn - age 15 and half (yes I am small comparable to my class because I skipped several classes)

Born on 11 january......

I would say I am 5'5 and healthy weight (so you all can visualise me if you want)

A high-school student from India- 11th grader - non medical, Which means my subjects particularly are:

• Mathematics (weakest subject for me)

• Chemistry (love and hate relationship)

• Physics (second fab)

• English (oml fab)

• Computer science (piece of cake for me)

I actually started my studyblr because I lost interest in studies while ago because of all the stress and pressure.

when I see the studyblr community I actually feel really United yk what I mean...

Intrerests: 🚦

There are lot of things that interest me like seriously.....

Dance , singing , playing basketball , editing videos ,

writing books (fanfics , thriller , actions mostly) ,

programming ( I am actually a full stack web app developer) ,

Baking , stock market ( if you know what I mean) , learning korean (I am kinda trying¿)

Well I am into kpop and kdrama too

Targets : 🎯

I am actually currently aiming for 11th final exam GPA to be 4.7 atleast

Next milestone is of 12th boards final exam GPA to be around same 4.7

Most important milestone and the second final one is that JEE MAINS AND ADVANCE exam (yes I am a jee aspirant)

I want to do something related computer science yk and forensic science so I dunno

My back up is a lawyer/judge in business because I am actually really good in social science subjects yk and business interests me a lot so yeaa

Final milestone is that I want to be a dance choreographer.....that's actually my dream...idc it can even be part time but I am not gonna abandon it.

MY THIS YEAR *BTS* BLACK SWAN CHALLENGE

CYBER FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR *MASTERPOST*

MY POST CATEGORIES:

#studyblr ixh

#diaries ixh

#life goes on series

#writing ixh

#tips ixh

#venting series

#black swan challenge

#achievement ixh

Thats it for the introduction I guess.....I don't think there is more to add in it...uhh yeaa 🏷

I wish to make friends here in this studyblr community !! So let's be friends? 🫶🏻📎

[whiskeythefishski]

OPENING LINES WRITING GAME!

I was tagged by @lilac-hecox for a lil writing game!

List the first lines of your last 20* stories. See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 authors!

*however many you wanna if you don't have that many

I only have eight fics up, and I think I already know what pattern I'm going to find - But heck yeah let's go!

In order of upload date (oldest first):

Kiss Me Like You Mean It: The party is in full swing by the time they arrive.

And I Can Survive It (For Only So Long): “Listen,” Alé sighs, pushing up her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I know there’s some sort of… history… between you two-”

Thank You, Olive: Jackie hums absentmindedly as she tidies up from dinner, stacking greasy paper plates and crumpling napkins into a garbage bag.

(make for me) A Soft Universe: When Spencer developed a cough and a headache on Saturday, he didn’t think too much of it - just chugged some DayQuil and took the excuse to stay in his room and play Fortnite with Alex all day.

hold on to the memories (i will hold onto you): “Shayne! Shayne! Honey, are you okay?”

trying to stifle my sighs: “Okay, so explain to me again how this isn’t a date?”

lullabies from the soft side: “I don’t think the place on Highland is going to work,” Spencer says, placing the shopping bags on the counter.

it's so obvious i'm your number one: “You’re sure this is the place?”

(And I'll include a couple as-yet-unpublished pieces too just for fun, although these are more examples of how I open scenes I think!)

death gods au (working title: your sharp and glorious thorn): As he pulls back the heavy beaded curtain, Spencer is buffeted by a cloud of sharp-smelling smoke.

prequel to/spommy meet-cute in "trying to stifle my sighs:" The pair of them are almost cartoonishly suited to each other; her willowy frame compliments his bulk like a vine winding itself around the trunk of a tree.

---

Okay so the pattern i knew I'd find is that I really enjoy starting off with a line of dialogue. I think I read in a book when I was a kid (perhaps 'Writing Magic' by Gail Carson Levine?) that it was a good thing to do and it's always stuck with me. It helps get me immediately into the mind of my POV character, and I like to think/hope that it helps hook a reader by kinda dropping them right into the scene.

Of these openers, I think I like "hold on to the memories" the best. I feel like instantly knowing that something has just gone wrong would intrigue me as a reader.

Tagging!!! @lorelilly @sheisaquarius-blog @soupy-girl @spennininomenon @toomuchsmoshbrainrot @june-rassicpark @vc55bughead @doubleboyfriend @drowninginredink

[banditcode]

#1

It's been a long time since I last wrote on this blog. Back then I had a job, I lived alone, and I had indie video game projects. It turns out I moved in with my partner and this is my new setup, which I bought when I was laid off from the company I worked for for 5 and a half years. Now I'm creating a web development portfolio on my GitHub because I can't publish my work from my previous company under my own name. Right now, I'm counting daily calories because I'm trying to lose 20 kilos this year ( I must eat less than 1800 calories per day in order to achieve it), and I've also enrolled in a 50-plus-week full-stack development bootcamp.

I can't sleep well because not having a job is really affecting me (I've been laid off since January 28th. I really didn't want to continue there, but I also didn't want to not have a job). And I'm trying to maintain a Ballet Fit routine to avoid sitting still. So this is my third blog start, focusing on personal and web development (lol), and food tracking. You could say it's a general habit tracker.

For anyone reading this for the first time, hello, I'm "bandit", 32 years old, interested in learning languages (I speak english, spanish, portuguese and a really basic russian), and just switched from the arts to development, among other things. I enjoy metal music, anime, and TV shows. I'm rebuilding my collection of manga, magazines, and books that I lost after moving so much in my youth. I hope to find more people on studyblr. 💕

[codemerything]

LET ME RE-INTRODUCE MYSELF👋🏾

My former handle used to be "leaveblackbrosalone" but @a-fox-studies gave me this new handle and I use it everywhere now, so thank you so much!

My name is Emery I really love movies and music, I take it very seriously and I sometimes write reviews on Letterboxd. I'm heading towards being a full-stack developer (I almost forget to add this)

Programming Languages 💻

Javascript (Primarily) Solidity (Secondary) I'm yet to learn but eventually will when I map out a timetable for it. Node.js too

Skills 🤹🏾‍♀️

Technical Writing Graphic Design UX/UI - I like to do everything myself so I picked this up and I'm decent with it I have a couple of articles on my blog here I mostly like to talk about subtle nuances in tech and I will be writing more this year hopefully! check out my GitHub here(maybe you can use some of my .README styles lol) and check out my projects too ~!

I love to build projects and hopefully I will be building more this year and sharing some of my interests and daily activities here (daily activities posts are quite tough for me but I'll figure something out)

[mysticsparklewings]

How NOT to DIY Marker Storage

Over the past couple of weeks, I put up a total of 4 image posts on my Ko-fi documenting a journey in trying to DIY a new storage solution for my Ohuhu markers. 

I already had more to say about the process than would fit in the image captions, and was already sort of planning ahead to compile the information in a more digestible format for a singular public reveal [the individual posts were Ko-fi-Members-only since in the moment they were more like "behind the scenes" content and I usually reserve that kind of thing for members anyway] and considering how things turned out, I think ultimately a long blog post like this compiling the images and properly fleshing out the story only makes sense... 

So let's go ahead and start by recapping the first post I made:

Original Caption:

Hey it's the project that's been getting the bulk of my attention this week! Some people over on r/Ohuhu figured out that "mug organizers" work well & similarly to the original Ohuhu markers bags for storage, & after some research, my brain caterpillars insisted I could probably DIY something structurally similar from the oodles of cardboard boxes we have around the house and save a whole $20. Pro Tip: Don't listen to the caterpillars, just buy the mug organizer. 😅 I'm going to finish and use what I started because I'm in WAY too deep now, but I have definitely put more than $20 worth of effort into this thing already...and I'm not even done yet. ��� And for the record, I will share more info/make a blogpost about how I put this thing together once it's finished, I just had too much to say for the image caption length and the sooner I can get back to work (mostly just need to finish painting and then any last-minute/decorative touches after that now) the sooner it will BE finished!

Oh if only Past Mystic knew!  So a little more background on this situation that I didn't have room to explain in the post caption:

For those that don't know, prior to this DIY adventure, I kept my Ohuhu markers in their original bags, but kept the bags turned on their sides and used a honeycomb system developed by Reddit User Spare-Cartoonist6276 [See her original post here] to give each marker an individual slot within the compartments of the bags. 

That setup has worked wonderfully for me, but as I already had three bags (216 + 104 + Skin Tones) and then recently added a fourth (Japanese 80 set), stacking the bags and searching between them for markers was getting a bit unwieldy for me. I didn't want to give up the honeycombs, but I at least needed one place to unite them all. 

So when people started posting about the mug organizers, that seemed like the perfect solution. At first glance, they look like they're constructed identically to the original Ohuhu bags, just with a much larger 12 compartments instead of the 320 set's maximum of 6. So one mug organizer could easily hold a full 320 set with plenty of room left over, which sounded exactly like what I needed. 

But the plan from the beginning, even if I had gone with a mug organizer, was always to end up modifying the honeycombs I'd already made (and making more as necessary) to still give each marker it's own slot, but have just one container full of Ohuhu markers instead of 3-4.   I would honestly still agree with Past Mystic that listening to the brain catapillers that kept insisting I should not spend additional money on marker storage was probably a mistake, but I also know now that Past Mystic was admittedly overly optimistic about the $20 mug organizer being the answer. We'll get to "why, exactly" later. 

Anyway. By the time I made Post 1, I had already spent a few days measuring boxes, picking one out, and then hours measuring and cutting up other boxes to make the dividers for the compartments. [And as you can see in the photos, I had already started painting the dividers, which I'll elaborate on a bit more for Post 2.] 

And while I do stand by my original sentiment of "don't do this to yourself," if you for some reason have a masochist streak in you that is tied to DIY'ing things rather than spending money (like I apparently have if this project is any evidence), I will very reluctantly tell you:

I picked a based box based on the dimensions of the mug organizers, hoping to end up with similar "how many markers will this hold" estimates: The main mug organizer I was looking at was roughly 16" by 13", and 6" deep. The box I picked out is approximately 17 inches on the longest side, 14 inches on the short side, and closer to 5" deep. [6" would've been more ideal, but anything over 4" would've worked so I decided to not be too picky about that.] 

I then made two long divider inserts that were just a little smaller than the 17" length with 4 evenly-spaced slits approximately 2.5" deep to fit with the smaller dividers I needed to make. And those smaller dividers, naturally, are just a little bit shorter than the 14" width of the box, also with 3 evenly-spaced slits. [And you can see one of the smaller dividers that I cut the slits just slightly too big laying on the box on in the first two photos of that first post, Sharpie included for scale.]

And that leads us fairly naturally to the second post in this journey:

Original Caption:

If you'll excuse the bad artificial lighting, you Sparklers can see I was able to finishing painting all of the cardboard black and added some galaxy-print Duck Tape to the front-facing edges, which serves and both decoration and a little extra support/protection for said edges. And today, though not pictured, I also added some felt "feet" to the back and a full layer of felt along the bottom so hopefully it won't have issues sliding or bumping up against other things. The journey isn't quite over yet, but we're so much closer now! The box/organizer itself is finished now, but the next step is to see how much modification the paper honeycombs I already use to give the marker individual slots will need to fit snuggly in these compartments. It probably won't be *that* much, but it will unfortunately be time-consuming. 😅

Once I had finished cutting up all of the dividers, I did my best to remove any tape or packing labels that might resist a paint job, then "sanded" any remnants that wouldn't come off with a nail file. [Because the only sandpaper I own is tiny, meant for cleaning/"sharpening" blender stumps and I did not want to buy sandpaper just for this purpose, but I did have a thick, brand-new nail file on-hand.] 

Then I had to glue a couple of pieces of cardboard in place on the base box. With the tape from the back seam gone, I needed to glue the back flaps down, and then I had to fill some gaps left by the flaps with extra cardboard pieces and glue those in place, too. You can see a thinner extra panel on the inside of the box in the first picture, and later on you'll see a super-thin strip down the back of the box. 

Then I got to spend several hours and 1.2 bottles of black craft paint...Well, painting everything. 

I went with black because I had some extra bottles of both it and white craft paint on-hand that I picked up for cheap without a project in mind, and I figured black would both cover better and not show stains/wear as much over time. And while I wasn't totally sure I'd be taping any edges yet, I also had more tape options that would match the black rather than the white. 

I did test the paint on a cardboard scrap first before I committed, though. I was pleasantly surprised that it did in fact cover amazingly—It sank seamlessly into the cardboard with one thin coat and will only rub off with harsh, deliberate effort, even only a few minutes after drying. [It also dried pretty fast, which was a bonus.] 

And a really unintended bonus was that even though the black paint isn't supposed to be "chalkboard paint," it does leave a vaguely chalkbord-ish kind of texture on the cardboard. 

On the flip side, it didn't totally hide some of the textural imperfections where I pulled tape off, but I more or less expected that.

But then, as the original post says and as you can see from the photos, after attempting to paint the very edges of the cardboard didn't gussy them up as much as I had hoped, I finished them off with some galaxy Duck Tape (brand name, not a typo) I had. I also considered a different decorative duct tape, but you'll see that in a different way a bit later. 

I also took this post/these photos as an opportunity to better show the dividers in full + the extra padding/support piece of cardboard I made to slide into the bottom of the box, and what the dividers look like when slotted together, but outside of the box. 

The photos also show something a little bit better than I thought I could describe it without a visual aid, which is why I didn't mention it before: To get the dividers to slot together properly, you cut the slots on opposite sides. So the slots cut into the "back" of the two long dividers, and they cut into the "front" of the three smaller ones. 

I'm not 100% sure if it matters which set of dividers got which cuts as long as they fit together properly, but I thought it might look better if the long dividers had the smooth edge in front, so that's why I went that way. 

And you'll see the felt "feet" on the back of the box mentioned in that post in a photo in a bit, but I did admittedly still neglect to take a photo of the felt along the bottom. But I promise you're really not missing much if you already know what a flat piece of felt looks like!  Besides, the felt was just an optional extra step that I took, as I said, to get ahead of any issues with the box scraping up against other things. If for some reason you're crazy enough to try making one of these yourself, you don't have to do that. 

Past-Mystic was also so very naïvely optimistic that the box was "done" at this stage and next up would be figuring out exactly how much modification the honeycombs were going to need to fit comfortably in each compartment. 

In some ways I'm jumping ahead a bit, but I didn't mention this in any of the previous posts even though I made the decision between Posts 2 and 3, so I'll go ahead and explain here:

After figuring out how the existing honeycombs would need to change (adding onto them) and how many wholly new honeycomb pieces I'd need to make, I did got ahead and have my Cricut cut the necessary cardstock pieces I'd need...But I also recognized that even at my fastest, that modification process would take a while and I didn't want to wait that long to get the markers in the box. 

So I made the decision to go ahead and make some flat dividers so that I could go ahead and put the markers in the box in the meantime and they'd at least be divided up by rows of 6-7. Lots of people use dividers like that anyway instead of going the individual slot route, so I figured I could live with it temporarily. 

That means I got to spend another few hours cutting up some different, thinner cardboard boxes (like cereal boxes) to make said dividers. Technically, I could have gotten the Cricut to either do that or cut some out of cardstock, but we had the boxes, I didn't feel like using more cardstock when I already needed a good chunk for the honeycomb modifications, and honestly for as much effort as it would have taken to cut the boxes into Cricut-Mat-friendly pieces, make the file for the Cricut, and babysit while the Cricut did the cutting, it made about as much sense to just do that part by hand anyway. 

That said, I did not opt to try and paint the temporary dividers mostly because all the boxes have glossy-ish printing on one side and they're thin enough I did not see trying to remove that going well and trying to "sand" them all sounded like actual torture...And also, keyword: temporary. 

So when we get to the finished photos, you may see some of the color from the unpainted temporary dividers here and there. If that bothers you...I'm sorry, I guess? 

With that said, once the temporary dividers were made, then came what I expected to be the moment of truth: Actually putting the markers in the box. 

And well, if you saw Post 3 when it went up, you already know how that went, but for those who didn't...

Original Caption:

Well Sparklers, I started this journey hoping to save a few dollars on marker storage & was hoping Part 3 would be a nice shot of the DIY organizer in action...But instead, as you can see last night while attempting to move my markers into it, before I could even get all of the compartments filled, one of the end compartment supports [divders] collapsed under the weight of the markers. 💔 I'll explain a bit more in the blogpost I intend to compile (get the full saga in one place!) but TL;DR, I think I'm about ready to admit defeat on the DIY route and just buy some storage like I probably should have in the first place. 😅 *Do Note: The organizer is laying on its "back" in this photo so that markers are upright, which is why some of the markers towards the top look like they're levitating. I had it standing on end so the markers lay horizontal (the way it was intended to be used) while I was filling it, but when the support collapsed laying it down before the markers in that section could get too scattered was the best option. And the photo isn't a great one anyway because I was naturally very upset at this turn of events and just quickly snapped one for documentation purposes, then scrambled to get the markers back in their original bags and horizontal again so I could put everything away and get some space from the situation. 😓

This time, the photo and the original caption actually cover most of what actually happened, but I did want to clarify a few things. 

Namely: I had been a little bit wary that the main supporting dividers, especially on the ends, might be prone to doing this, because I had seen as much as more community posts about the mug organizers came in. 

I would consider that a key flaw of the mug organizers, really. As far as I can tell, none of the easily available ones have the ends of the dividers sewn in place, unlike the Ohuhu marker bags. Some of the cheaper ones even use plain, thin (white) cardboard for the dividers, so the potential for collapsing like this is even higher than my DIY cardboard version. 

However, after some further consideration, I made the assumption that collapse wouldn't be as much of an issue if the compartments were completely full, because the weight of the markers above would fall on the markers below, etc. 

Allow me to make this abundantly clear: WRONG. 

BAD. 

NO. 

Past Mystic made a BIG mistake in thinking that! 

I was trying to be "smart" and had started filling the box more or less upside-down, thinking that I'd fill the lower compartments up and gravity would handle the rest when I turned the box rightside-up. 

Clearly, gravity did not wait for me. 🙃 

All that work. All that effort, all that time, and for nothing, because it didn't work. 

It happened so suddenly, and I was so upset...But before I could walk away and get some space from the situation, I couldn't just leave all the markers I'd moved in the box. I had to sit there and move them all back. So rubbing the salt all the way, deep into my wounded pride.

Technically, I did sleep on it, but the next day I was entirely 100% ready to just buy some marker storage and be done with this "D. I. Why??"...But then I actually tried to price-shop around for options. 

If you have a smaller amount of markers to store, there are actually plenty of reasonably priced options ($30 and under) available to choose from and it's mostly a matter of picking your preferred format: Fabric-y travel case, wood or acrylic shelves, plastic trays, etc. 

But uh, let me save you all a few hours and some heartache and just let you all know right now that if you're looking to store nearly 400 markers, you're going to have to be prepared to spend $50-$70 minimum. 

I thought I was being extremely generous and "splurging" when I wasn't having any luck in the $20-$30 range and decided I could spend as much as $40...And I can't help but feel like maybe a few years ago that would have been a reasonable budget, but whether it ever was or not, that's not the reality we're currently living in. 

I even went pretty far off the beaten path and was looking deeply into other DIY options, hoping to find something where maybe I'd have to buy some supplies for $20-$30 but would have a much easier time putting things together and still come out ahead...But again, for the amount of markers I needed to store, I kept coming up short in various ways. 

Now, with that said, I would like to take this opportunity call attention to one DIY option I found that I was genuinely impressed with the ingenuity of and I would maybe still be open to trying with a smaller marker assortment in the future...But I wasn't brave enough to try it for my Ohuhus this time around because I am big-time concerned it wouldn't work well for this many markers (especially with one epic failure under my belt already):

Anyway. I would be glad to talk at length about the landscape of the "marker storage market" (and DIY options) some other time if you Sparklers would be interested in such ramblings, but for the here and now, the moral of my window-shopping: I (somehow, very likely incorrectly) did not feel like I had made $70+ worth of effort with my DIY marker box and still could not justify throwing $70+ at the problem no matter how badly I wanted to just be done and move on...So I went back to brainstorming what modifications I could do to make the box work without having to start over completely. 

I toyed with a few possibilities and I'm reasonably sure there are probably a couple of other solutions that could have also worked, but I was looking for an intersection of "make it work, but also let's limit how long this modification is going to take," because in the event that it still didn't work, I wanted to limit how much additional time I would be wasting. 

That leads us to one of the images for Post 4 in the saga, but I'm going to go a little out of order and go ahead and show that image to give a better look at the fix I went with for context, then we'll recap and discuss Post 4 properly:

[Possible Trypophobia Warning?]

I decided the best thing to do both in terms of time and the materials I had was to make 3-sided "frames" to give each box compartment additional support to hold up the market weight. 

4-sided frames or making straight up mini-boxes that fit in each compartment were also things I considered (and might have been even more secure still, if done right), but either of those would've required a lot more cardboard cutting and potentially having to find a way to securely "stitch" multiple pieces of cardboard together, meanwhile I had a few scrap pieces of cardboard already pretty close to the size(s) I needed ready and cutting a few more wouldn't be that complicated. 

Also to be clear, I am fairly certain that the center column of compartments didn't really need the extra frames because they were already really solid, and the two top corners didn't necessarily need them either [because I don't plan on sitting anything terribly heavy on top of the whole box], but I knew it would look weird if I made them for some compartments but not others, so every compartment got one anyway. 

Each of the frames, size-wise, is actually just a little bit shorter than the length of the shorter dividers. I can't give an exact measurement both because I didn't bother, but also because each compartment (and therefore each frame) is just slightly off by like 1/4 of an inch in one direction or the other (or both), so I scored and folded each piece to fit the top side of each compartment, then trimed the "legs" of each frame little by little until they fit properly in the compartment. 

Related: If you have no idea how to get things thicker than paper to fold easily: I've done that before by using the back/dull side of an X-acto knife, but in some tests found either that was too harsh or I was too heavy-handed to do that here without just cutting into the cardboard, so I ended up using a Cricut scoring tool by just...holding it like a pencil. A bone folder would probably also work, but I don't have one of those. [I had the scoring tool on-hand already for my actual Cricut machine.] 

I then repeated the process of painting each cardboard pieces with black paint so they'd blend into the full box, and I taped the edges that would face outwards. Only this time, instead of the galaxy tape, I used a rainbow-leopard print [very Lisa Frank-esque] mostly because I didn't want to totally use up the galaxy tape, but also I knew when folded you'd mostly just see blue and black on the edges of the leopard tape and thought that could be a fun extra pop of color. And as it turns out, the little bit of rainbow hiding just inside the compartment edges is kinda fun in its own way. 

Also: I didn't take any pictures of this specifically, but if anybody cares, after everything was a painted, I did label all of the removable cardboard pieces (including the new support frames) with silver Sharpie in discreet places, just to try and future-proof the whole thing in case I ever need to take it apart or maybe replace specific pieces or something. 

Now, if you're wondering why I did make a post just about the frames and why I held off on the reveal in this compilation, it's because at the time, while I felt odds were good the frames would work, that previous failure was haunting me and I was, frankly, terrified either they wouldn't work after all or that I'd start putting things together again and discover some other fatal flaw I'd missed. 

So I procrastinated a bit by double-checking to see how the new frames might affect how the honeycombs would fit in the box, and trying correct some bowing along the sides of the exterior box by tying some yarn tightly around the box and letting it sit like that overnight. 

And here's a related visual that I thought about including in Post 4 but ultimately decided not to:

You can see one of the corrective yarn strings peeking in at the bottom, but the main point of this photo was a reminder to myself of how the honeycombs should be arranged when the time comes. 

Specifically, the pinks/purples that take up 6 of the columns are actually in one "complete" 36-cell honeycomb that currently lives in the my 216 set bag, and that last column with a blender, black, and the Honolulu fluorescent colors is a "standalone" column that was made from "leftover" honeycomb pieces.

Before the support frames were added, I was already expecting that I would be able to get a 36-cell section in each compartment plus an additional column pretty much just like this (based on estimates from the mug organizer posts I'd been seeing), and early tests told me that would work with a little bit of breathing room. So each compartment would hold 42 markers, and I'd end up with a box that could hold a whopping 504 markers total. 

Another test was necessary once the frames were added because I needed to see if having that extra layer of cardboard would only use up the breathing room or if it would make the fit too tight to get a whole extra column in. It wouldn't be the end of the world if it did, because I'd still be able to get 432 markers in there and that would still hold all the markers I needed with some space left over, it just wouldn't have as much room for new additions. 

As you can see from the photo, I do think I'll still be able to get an extra column in for at least 10 out of the 12 compartments; The top right and bottom left corners are the tightest and may have to settle for the original 36-cell structures, but that would only be a loss of 12 marker spaces (492). 

Granted, the frames do take up enough space that only the staggered nature of the honeycombs will make it possible to get 42 markers in each one. As you'll see in a moment, with the flat temporary dividers, there just isn't quite enough room to fit a whole extra marker in each row, so for now the compartments are only holding 36 markers each anyway. 

Once those two tasks were done, I was out of ways directly related to the box to procrastinate, so it was time for the moment of truth, which brings us properly to the fourth and final post:

Original Caption:

Sooo....After what happened last in this saga, I really was prepared to give up & just buy mrker storage...until I actually looked & realized how much it would cost to get what I wanted. That price tag said: "Maybe you should give the DIY route one more try..." So I ended up. making some extra cardboard "frames" for support, visible in unpainted-form in Photo 5, and so far they seem to be doing the trick! There's a bit more to the story, but I do still plan on compiling the details in a full blogpost to properly explain. For now, the point is I think I have FINALLY come out the other side of this and I'm thrilled! ✨

For this second filling of the box, instead of turning the whole thing upside down so I could fill it "in order," I opted instead to just start at the bottom and fill it "backwards" so the weight would be increased from the bottom-up. It might not have mattered at this point, but I didn't want to take any chances of my box-filling strategy having a negative impact on the final result if I could help it. 

And ultimately, I'm kinda glad I did it that way because with 36 markers per compartment, once I got through my 216 and 104 sets, I had room for just 3 markers in that first compartment of the second row left, and it's probably better to have that space near the top and less affected by gravity that it would have been in the bottom corner. You can see I opted to fill those 3 slots with two extra blenders and an extra black, which also means I've got black and a blender acting more or less as "bookends" for the 320 range. 

That probably begs the question though about what's going on with those two compartments full of markers in the first row, yeah? 

The very first compartment is my entire Old 24 Skin Tone set (note the presence of GY163) 6 extra Skin Tone colors I had on-hand, plus a row on top of Arteza Everblends (which we'll come back to), and the second compartment is all of the other "exclusive" Ohuhu colors I was missing (+ the blender from the Japanese 80 set)...And then another row of Arteza Everblends on top (which again, we'll come back to). 

Basically, until I can get the honeycombs ready, I wanted to have both of those compartments full to limit how much the markers can move around on their own. The "extra" Ohuhu colors on their own would've only filled up one compartment and then a partial one, and it's the potential for movement in the partially-filled one I was worried about. 

Otherwise, I really don't need the duplicates from the 24 set in there (they can live in the 80 set bag with those duplicates), and long-term I think I would actually want to try and integrate the exclusives so that all of the markers are in order together following my swatch chart. 

The Artezas (told ya we'd come back to them!) are there both to fill the space and also because I'd like to use them more and that just isn't going to happen if I leave them in the cardboard box they came in. So even once I get the honeycombs sorted out the Artezas will probably get to stay, at least for a while. [There should certainly be room for them!] 

Now, there aren't any markers in that last top compartment, but there is something there, so here's an additional photo of that, and let's talk about it:

Oh, and while we're at it, there's your better look at the leopard print tape on the frame pieces. 😜

Sticking out of the bottom of this compartment are the final temporary dividers that I would use if it was also filled with markers, then on the side there's a small folded piece of paper with a very simple diagram I drew as a very simple guide for where each of the frame pieces go if I ever have to take them out and put them back, and then the most noticeable thing: That little zipper case. 

Once upon a time, that was a travel manicure toolkit, but the nail tools have long since been lost. Currently, I'm using it to hold a bunch of very small swatch cards—One for each Ohuhu color I own. 

Those cards are for the very long-term ongoing project I have of sorting out my own "proper color order" for the markers. The zipper case is where they live when I'm not using them, and it just worked out really well that the case fits right into the width of the box compartments. 

It's not necessary for the case to be there—It was doing just fine on a shelf with some other art stuff—and it probably won't stay there forever, but I thought it would be kind of nice to let it at least temporary live with the markers since that compartment was mostly empty anyway. 

And from the full photos you may also notice I also decided to take advantage of what bowing is still on the right-hand side of the box:

By wedging the swatch cards from the 216 and 104 sets in there! 

I use my own chart more for making art, but it's nice to have these cards on-hand as quick reference for what comes in those specific sets. 

And then just to make sure I have all my bases covered: The last photo from Post 4 specifically shows the box in place near my desk, it's permanent home. And we can see that where it sits, I have space in front to use as a little "catch all" area for other things I might need to have within quick-reach but there isn't room on the desk for them. [The other Post 4 photos were taken in another room that had better window light on the day the photos were taken.] 

And now that I think I've explained everything that's in the box (and in front of it) so hopefully you won't be too busy wondering about that to focus on anything else...

I must point out: I was still nervous the entire time I was filling the box that it was going to spectacularly fail at any moment. And since the timing worked out that I finished filling it up right before bed, I also got to turn in for the night worrying that I was going to wake up to some kind of horrid noise and markers all over the floor. 

Good News: That didn't happen! 🎉

It's also now been a few days with the box full-up and it seems like it's going to hold, at least for a while! 

I do expect if left as-is for too long that some of the cardboard will start to bow from the weight of the markers (as do many of the DIY foamboard marker cases I've seen), but if that's the worst thing that happens, I can live with that. And I also think if I can get the honeycombs ready before that happens, the tighter fit on those might help counter/prevent at least some of it. But only time will tell for sure. 

But the point is: The box is holding up so far, and so I feel more comfortable letting myself be happy that it is actually DONE! 🎉 

It does just look and feel so nice to have all the markers contained in one home, and the box fits pretty much exactly as I expected in the same spot where I was keeping the marker bags before. It's roughly the same height as the 216, 104, and 80 set bags were stacked together, it's just a little bit wider than the 216 bag was (maybe two inches more?). 

And while it's not technically as portable as the bags because it doesn't close up or have handles, I was able to carry it around the house to a different room to take photos without spilling markers everywhere. 

I think I could potentially make a lid/cover and maybe some kind of removable carry strap in the future if gaining back that portability for this many markers really mattered to me, but after everything I've already been through to get here, I'm perfectly content with the box as-is. 

Speaking of: I would like to call extra attention to the title and the fact that this post is not written at all like a tutorial for how to make one of these boxes yourself. 

Remember, even back when I made Post 1, I was already saying a variation of "Don't do this to yourself," and the main reason I continued on at that point—even before the collapse that had me ready to quit—was because I felt I was already in too deep and had to see the project through. 

And I said at the beginning of this post, I stand by that sentiment. Even going in with the knowledge of "you'll have to make extra frames to support the marker weight," I think generally the trouble of sourcing and preparing all of the cardboard to get to that point is more trouble than it's really going to be worth for a lot of people. 

Especially when you consider that I kind of lucked out that we had a box close to the proportions I wanted already in the Cardboard Hoard. 

I don't even want to know what the alternate reality looks like where I would have had to make the base box itself out of other boxes. 😖

So while I can't in good conscience say "just save up and spend $70+ on storage," [because, as we discussed, even at my very lowest in this adventure, I still couldn't justify doing that myself,] I will at least say: "Spend $20-$30 on a mug organizer" and then optionally "spend a few hours making cardboard frames to give it the support it needs." 

Had I known ahead of time how much trouble I was going to have in this process, that's what I would have done. I probably could've been halfway through the honeycomb modifications by now. 

What will I do if/when I outgrow the box I've made? Right now, I don't know—That's Future Mystic's problem. But also, hopefully, that question won't need answering for a while. [Especially if I can in fact squeeze 504 markers in this thing with the honeycombs.] 

So this blogpost exists as:

A cautionary tale

Personal validation that I did it

A very loose point of reference so that if you do feel an inexplicable urge to try making a box like this yourself, you have a little more insight on how best to go about it.

And if you take anything away from this, whether you feel compelled to try making your own marker box or not: Try to remember that some things in life are just not worth torturing yourself over if you have another choice. 

And if you're in a similar headspace to mine at the beginning of this journey and you need someone to give you "permission" to spend a non-ridiculous amount of money on something that would make your life easier: Consider this my personal blessing to do so, please. 

On that note, I think I've covered about everything that I could think to. And in fact, believe it or not it actually took me roughly 3 days to type all of this out in a way I was satisfied with, so I hope you Sparklers can forgive me that I don't have a more eloquent outro in me at this point. 🫠

So I will leave you all to make your own marker storage related decisions and excuse myself—After all, I have a bunch of extra honeycomb cells and half a dozen other [Ohuhu] marker projects on my to-do list. 

Thank you to anyone who actually bothered reading through all of my ramblings, and hopefully you will all be hearing from me again very, very soon. 

Sparkle On ✨

~Mystic~

[pyreofsunflowers]

jupiter family media taste hcs

this is stupid but idrc. my blog.

David listens to like, classic 90s rock. Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins - that whole lot. He also really likes classic, OG 80s metal (metallica, judas priest, dio, etc.). He developed his music taste from 95 to 99 and never really got into stuff after that. Hes a grumpy old man about his music and will never stray from his ol reliable stack of dusty CDs. Where he's a grandpa about his music though, this man will watch basically any movie that comes out and say "that was pretty good" in his opinion cinema peaked with 2001 a Space Odyssey and Saving Private Ryan. Hal tried to show him Akira or Ghost in the Shell and he got wayyyyyy confused. He doesn't really watch TV other than blankly staring at history channel and animal planet "documentaries" and manly man reality TV shows when there's nothing better to do

Hal has a really eclectic collection of music that is constantly changing. However the most common thread of music he likes is 80s New Wave and synth - The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Duran Duran. That kinda stuff. However his playlist went on to be full of vocaloid songs, neo-synthwave, break core and he got into more experimental stuff as he got older (even then he never fully dug deep, just started listening to Bjork and Kate Bush yk?) He also loves soundtracks and *loves* lofi hip hop. We already basically know Hal's taste in movies/tv so instead im gonna say his favorite anime movie is Akira, his favorite non-anime movie is Brazil and if you ask him his favorite anime he'll go on and on and on about a super obscure mecha anime from the 80s. I think hes a massive cinephile and huge nerd about his movies and shows but it's literally only for anime and sci fi and occasionally action stuff. Ask him about the complexities of Apocalypse Now or the symbolism in Blue Velvet and he'll just give you a blank stare.

Sunny ended up with like. The weirdest combination of her parents tastes. She LOVESSSSS vocaloid and LOVESSSS anime but in a tweenager in the mid 2010s way you know. This girl was in the Black Butler, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tale, Soul Eater TRENCHES. She also got into a lot of alt music but it was. you know. Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco and baby's first alt band stuff. What a crazy lil gal.

Raiden was a nu-metal kid big time. He was always bumping Korn and Slipknot and System of a Down. He was also really into 90s industrial like Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, and KMFDM. He kinda grew out of this but not really, just mellowed out and got into more 'mainstream' alt like Radiohead and Elliot Smith. As we know, Raiden is a canonical filmbro (getting into fights with random women about pointless details in movies). I think he lovessssss neo noir and crime thrillers. Anything dark and gritty he just adores. Taxi Driver, Fight Club, Fallen Angels, Clockwork Orange, Crash, Prisoners <- whatevere this genre is he just eats that shit up. Hes a total snob, but not like. In a french film school way in a over 500 entries on letterboxd way. He's subscribed to like evry major movie review channel and it's impossible to take him out to any kinoplex because he just starts ranting on the state of modern cinema. He still maintains this snobbery and its only gotten worse lmao

[luxet0bscuritas-blog]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge / November / 10 / better than the first book

Unfortunately, I couldn't participate in the book photo challenge over the last couple of days as I was preparing and hosting a mystery dinner which was quite lovely, but also pretty exhausting due to long shifts at work beforehand.

Now, after a restful night's sleep, I'm finally feeling recharged and ready to focus on reading and blogging again. :)

For today's prompt, I'm sharing one of my favourite paranormal fantasy series by Yasmine Galenorn. These books were hugely popular in Germany when I was a teenager, and Weltbild, an online-shop for books, sold absolutely beautiful hardback edition of the first three books. As far as I know, there wasn't a single household back then that didn't own this series. Even my mother-in-law still owns the editions from back then. As I became more passionate about the English language, I started collecting the series in English, and now a well-loved stack of worn-out paperback editions proudly decorate a small spot on my bookshelf.

So, what’s this series all about?

The Sisters of the Moon basically follows the story of three sisters—Camille, Delilah, and Menolly—who are part-human, part-Fae, each with their own unique magical abilities.

Camille, the oldest, is a witch who draws her power from the moon to cast spells. Delilah, the middle sister, is a fierce werecat who struggles to balance her human side with her animal instincts. Menolly, the youngest, was once an athlete before she was turned into a vampire against her will. Together, they face dark and dangerous forces that threaten not only their city of Seattle, where most of the story takes place, but the entire human world—and even the Otherworld.

The series alternates between the sisters’ points of view, starting with Camille’s perspective in the first book, followed by Delilah’s and Menolly’s in the next two. This pattern continues throughout the series, allowing each sister’s story and growth to unfold in turn.

What I’ve always loved about this series is the way it blends thrilling supernatural battles with the characters’ personal journeys. While the action-packed plots are full of magic, demons, and epic showdowns, the sisters' emotional lives and relationships are just as central to the story. Whether it’s Camille’s complex and tumultuous love life, Delilah’s struggle to control her werecat nature, or Menolly’s healing from the trauma of becoming a vampire, the series delves deeply into their character development. It's a beautiful mix of magic, romance, spice and personal growth.

That’s why the second book, Changeling, is my pick for today’s prompt. I've always had a soft spot for Delilah, and I see a lot of myself in her. She’s constantly wrestling with the tension between strength and vulnerability, wanting to be strong for both herself and her family, but often feeling overwhelmed by her emotions and her werecat instincts. Her inner struggle to find balance between these two sides of herself is something I can really relate to. Whether it’s trying to juggle ambition with self-care or pushing through when everything feels out of control, Delilah’s journey mirrors a lot of my own experiences.

What I love most about Delilah is that she doesn’t hide or suppress her emotions in order to appear strong. Instead, she embraces both her fierceness and her softer side, showing that strength doesn’t mean shutting down vulnerability but that they can coexist simultaneously. She’s one of those rare characters who feels real and comforting, someone who teaches you that it’s okay to be both strong and gentle at the same time. For that reason, Delilah is one of my absolute comfort characters.

[personality-corner]

Loops & Grips: What is it?

So I’ve had this blog for so long, I just figured it was time to talk about loops and grips. I am still learning about shadows, so I won’t talk about it yet, but when I feel like I’m educated enough, I’ll make a post about that as well.

Why do they exist?

MBTI is a very intriguing system, but it’s a very flawed system, especially when you consider that most humans are flawed, and a lot of us go through rough patches. While not everyone who is mentally or emotionally unhealthy is going to be in a loop or a grip, it’s a way to describe an unbalanced stack.

Sometimes, when you’re going through something, you tend to ignore your upper traits, and tend to lean into your tertiary or inferior traits a bit more.

Many criticize this theory, as it didn’t come from Katherine Cook Briggs or Isabel Briggs Myers (the founders) or Carl Jung, the man who’s ideologies inspired them.

Loops

A loop is essentially an unbalanced personality, and happens when a person is mentally unhealthy or has struggled to develop some of their traits. A loop is when a person struggles to use their auxiliary trait (second trait) and uses their tertiary trait.

It only happens when someone is going through something very painful, or traumatic, or they simply have not been raised in a good environment.

Examples include:

Carl Gallagher from Shameless: Who is going through an Se-Te loop. He is a bully and tends to do things for the sake of sensory activity, or to assert authority, especially as a child.

Elsa from Frozen: It can be argued that Elsa is in an Si-Fi loop, as she is seen ignoring her Te a lot, and wallowing in her emotions due to trauma.

Is it a loop or are you mistyping them?

What are they like when they are at their healthiest? Whether their healthiest be before or after we see them in a show, book or movie. A healthy person will definitely be more well balanced and their cognitive functions will be stacked in the right way.

Elsa, at her healthiest, and even sometimes when she is unhealthy will lean into her Te a lot more, making quick and logical decisions. Carl, as we see him develop as a character and create connections with better role models, definitely uses his Fi alot more, and, again, even when he wasn’t at his healthiest, we STILL saw glimpses of his Fi.

Grips

A grip, is when someone who is in an unhealthy state, relies alot more on their inferior function, and as the least developed function, may act differently because of it.

For example:

Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel: As a dominant Ne user, he leans into his Si alot more, after consistently being let down by Heaven and falling into a depression. But because Si is his least developed function, and he’s only leaning into it, he has a negative view on the world and inflicts this on everyone else.

Luisa from Encanto: As an Fi dom, we see Luisa lean into her Te a lot, especially when stressed. However, as her heart developed function, her Te manifests in overworking herself, and stressing herself out even more.

Is it a grip or are you mistyping them?

Again, what are they like at their healthiest? Is it obvious that the function is not their most comfortable function? In the case of Lucifer, we see at his healthiest, he is extremely idealistic and full of ideas that many find unrealistic. It’s only after those dreams get crushed one too many times that he starts to lean into his inferior function more.

With Luisa, when she isn’t stressed, and on occasion, when she is stressed, we see she’s emotionally driven. She wants to protect her sister and her family, and dwells on her own emotions a lot, but with the pressure she’s constantly under, she has to push her emotions aside or she cracks.

Loops & Grips should not be the only criteria for typing a character or yourself.

The thing about loops and grips is that you’re usually not going to be in one 100% of the time. There are times, usually when you’re not under as much stress, that you’re going to be able to use your functions in a balanced way.

Also, think of when you’re at your healthiest… what functions do you mean into? If it’s the same functions, then it’s probably not a grip or a loop.

That being said, I have typed very few characters with the idea of their loop in mind, in fact, so few, that finding examples was definitely a struggle here.

[joannechocolat]

The Final Chapter

A review – well, sort of – of Chris Fowler’s WORD MONKEY.

There are books that you never want to end. Sometimes it’s because of the thrilling plot; or the fantastic world of the story;  or that the central characters are so engaging that it’s hard to say goodbye. Whatever the reason, it has taken me a very long time to reach the end of my old friend’s final book. Not because it was dull – quite the reverse; it may be the finest, funniest, most sincere, the wisest thing he has ever written – but because I didn’t want to reach the final chapter.

This is the memoir Chris Fowler always spoke of writing. The first instalment, PAPERBOY, was the story of his childhood; a life dominated by books, films and comics in a working-class household where no-one understood his passion. The second chapter, FILM FREAK, was the account of a young, ambitious gay man at the start of his career, obsessed with the movies, desperately seeking work in a collapsing industry. The third, WORD MONKEY, was to be the story of a successful career in books, his advice to budding writers, his thoughts on the industry, all presented with the same joie-de-vivre, keen observation, hilarious wisdom and lightness of touch that characterized the previous two. And it is – it’s all those things, and more. More, because it’s also the tale of the final chapter in a life, the last pages of which I read in real time against the backdrop of the pandemic and everything that came with it, including Chris’ diagnosis with terminal cancer and his final, dazzling flare of creativity before the end.

Before I go on, some context. Chris and I were friends a long time – over 30 years, in fact. It began with a letter I wrote as a very new author, thanking him for my only review. From there it developed into a regular correspondence (I still have a stack of those letters, many of them detailing things that later appeared in the books, always funny and generous, and illustrated with little cartoons); and then a growing friendship. We were different in many ways, but we shared a love of books and films, and it was in Chris’ nature to help other writers whenever he could. He saw the rise of my career from teacher to bestselling novelist. He was there at my highest and lowest points. He found me my first proper agent. His company did the advertising campaign for the movie of CHOCOLAT. When he moved from Kentish Town to King’s Cross, I bought a pied-à-terre down the road, and we met up whenever I was in town, usually for a breakfast that would go on till lunchtime.

At the beginning of lockdown, both of us were diagnosed with cancer. They found mine early. His, too late. Over the next three years I tried to come to terms with his terminal diagnosis. I didn’t really believe in it; he was still so full of life, so upbeat, so creative. We corresponded by e-mail and text from our respective chemo chairs; he told me funny stories about his life and his doctors. When lockdown ended, we met up again for our usual breakfasts in King’s Cross. I think I expected to see a change; but he looked and sounded just the same; and he was still writing furiously. In December 2022 he finished editing his memoir; by then he was unable to leave the flat, and I went to see him at home for the last time. I didn’t know it would be the last time, of course, but it’s rare to know these things as they happen. He was getting frail by then, but mostly he was just the same; clever and funny and cheery and filled with stories and book recommendations and accounts of obscure European films that I absolutely had to watch. And he was still writing furiously; short stories, blog posts, tweets, even a new Bryant and May book (he joked that it would have to be a short one). I told him I loved him. He said it back. That was the last time I saw him, although our correspondence went on right up till the end, in March, just weeks from his 70th birthday.  

I still find it hard to believe he’s gone. His voice is still so clear in my mind. And I still see him all over King’s Cross; in bookshops and theatres and cinemas. In the comics and record shops we visited together; in countless breakfast places. And it’s here, in this book, the final chapter of a life well lived, a quite extraordinary life, crowned with achievements (which he typically downplays) and filled with humour and stories. It’s all here, and it’s wonderful, and it fills me with admiration at the talent of the writer, as well as the courage of a man who can take something as bleak as a terminal cancer diagnosis, and work it into something like this; a celebration; joyous, true and filled with unflinching insight.

I don’t know why I feel surprised. I always knew how good he was. But this is more than just a dazzling piece of writing. It’s a testament to the power of words; a reminder that through them, you can shine even beyond that darkness; that life is short, and love is long; and stories can live forever. This is why we write, after all; to push away the shadows. To connect with each other across the years. To celebrate what brings us joy; to prove that we are not alone. So read this book, and read the rest of this astonishing trilogy. And be inspired – as writers, as readers – by the boy who dreamed of the stars, and learned to live forever.