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repo-net · 5 months

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updated ver: aoyama nakazke

How long has it been since I posted about an OC, let alone one that isn't from my bag of wrestling characters? A couple of years now?

Well, never mind all that. I've been in a strong writing mood as of late (it's more or less just me trying to get back into the hobby again while my schedule is freer than it was a month or so ago) and I thought I'd put down an updated and cleaner version of one of my older OCs; Aoyama Nakazke. The older post for him can be found here, if you have some sort of interest in checking that out.

He used to be solely a Danganronpa OC (and the context of his backstory is still minorly reliant on Hope's Peak being a thing), but I've admittedly fallen out of that genre a little bit as of late (not completely mind you, why else would the sage is still the entire theme of my blog?), so now he's more or less just a general OC that can be put in just about any verse.

Well, anyways. The lad's under the cut, so go check it out if you're interested.

Picrew link

Name: Aoyama Nakazke

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Height: 5'2" / 158cm

Weight: 128lbs / 58kg

Birthday: May 8 (I forgot why I gave him this birthday, but it has something significant to do with basketball)

Talent: Street Baller

Likes: Cola bottles / most kinds of street food - Cats - Mikel Jordin (???) - Having his hair stroked (generally by people he likes)

Dislikes: Strong fires - Authority figures - Tacky clothing - Getting shoved/slapped/any form of physical disrespect

Appearance:

Aoyama is a rather short boy with a youthful face; making it easy to mistake him to be younger than he actually is. He has light brown eyes and fair white skin, and styles his dark gray hair into short upswept spikes, with two pigtails tied together with black ribbons. When they’re let down, his hair reaches all the way to his shoulders, though he rarely ever does this outside of his own home or in the middle of a shower. (Small tidbit: he chose the dark color for the ribbons to have them blend in with his hair as much as possible)

Aoyama’s attires for everyday use consists of a long and baggy sleeved, black hoodie jacket that has a puffy interior within it, made to maximize the amount of comfort he can feel. Underneath the hoodie is a maroon shirt patterned with black vertical stripes, with the same design being applied to his socks. His shorts have a similar color scheme, with predominant maroon and black accents around the waist area and the edges of the cloth, and maroon sneakers that are topped with white shoelaces. This is usually his outfit while at his home, or if he plans on playing basketball within the day.

If he’s out and about, he makes the slightest bit of effort to change it up; although not by much, as he tries not to stand out among a crowd and would only really put in this ‘effort’ for someone he likes. This alternative outfit has Aoyama don a crimson and black undershirt with a silver leather jacket, and black pants kept in place with a belt. Both the jacket and his pants have plenty of pockets for him to store items; and more importantly - his hands. He really likes idling with his hands in pockets somewhere.

He also changes his footwear a little, now a simple pair of pure crimson socks and black sneakers with red undertones and laces. Aside from his clothes, he’ll style his hair to make sure his three antennas don’t just pop out, thinking that they look ‘stupid’.

Underneath his clothes is a rather muscly and well-toned build, as expected of someone from his area being a street basketball player and all. There are also a few, not so distinct scars around his torso and back - all a product of his childhood.

Personality:

Raised in the streets by himself and his talent, Aoyama is a stubborn and humble boy who seeks to get by in life as comfortably as he can. He's generally quiet off the court due to not wanting to really associate with anyone other than those he teams up with, and from a bit of deep insecurity that he isn't really worth more than what his talent can get him.

His thoughts tend to be a little sarcastic and blunt, sometimes seeping out of his lips and getting blurted out. Aoyama generally tries to avoid anything that’ll start a confrontation though - especially if it’s getting him involved in one.

He's unpretentious and practically his own biggest hater, though he doesn't take well to disrespect, especially physical ones, and it’s likely he’ll instinctively throw a fist right at the source if he gets shoved, pushed around, etc. He's a little clueless when it comes to things like world knowledge and educational subjects, with his lifestyle while growing up playing a major part in that.

Aoyama is incredibly loyal to those who he considers a friend and resents the idea of turning his back on someone; but his nature and roots as a street kid make it rather unavoidable for him to get in trouble from time to time, which has had him have to solve issues across different groups… at least, in the ways that he best can.

Backstory:

To say that Aoyama hated his childhood would be an understatement; but even so, he knows most of it came to be because he would rather walk through true hell than have to live in a fake heaven with demons.

Aoyama was an accident child by a shaky and collapsing couple in a rural farm close to the edge of Kushiro (an average town/city just north of Hokkaido) - both parents were not only poor but had also began to fall out of love for one another, sending the Nakazkes into a spiraling doom of debt and unwanted parental responsibility. Not having the means nor the funds to abort the child, they gave birth to him and left Aoyama to be raised by his grandparents, who would both shortly pass just before he turned 3 - the year he first started to remember and be conscious of his surroundings.

Taking Aoyama back with them to their house, his parents began to take their frustrations and misery of their situation out on him, blaming him for the fact that they keep spending money because of him. Whenever he was at school, he didn’t have many friends; and his short stature and endearingly innocent face as a kid made him an easy target for bullies. Yet whenever he would fight back, he’d get punished as if he started the trouble itself. It didn’t help that he could never focus on school too - and his grades were ‘passable’ at best.

Aoyama’s parents would constantly shelter him and refuse to ever let him out of the house, stopping him from eating too much, reasoning that if he gets full, he’ll become sleepy - and that if he became sleepy, he wouldn’t be able to study. After some point, Aoyama’s parents were no longer able to keep affording his tuition, which left his basic education level around merely the 4th grade. It wasn’t until he later got into Hope’s Peak that he was able to somewhat catch up.

Scars left on him by the whips and belts they’d strike him with, cold and heartless words that made him question why he was even alive, and constant hate that boiled and bubbled until he couldn’t take it anymore. After getting splashed with hot water by his father after he was caught trying to go outside and berating him, telling him that he’s wasting his life by trying to make it out of the house and that he’s only going to hurt himself like the idiot he is. Aoyama yells at the both of them, screaming and asking why they’re so mad at him when he never asked to be born, and that they’re saying that he’s wasting ‘his’ life…

When ‘his’ life was never his to begin with, because they’ve been dictating everything he’s been doing since the beginning, and that he hates it here, saying that he wishes he could just leave like they clearly want him to. His mother steps up, slaps him in the face and pulls him by the hair, dragging him back to their house. She tells him if he hates his life here so much, then why doesn’t he pick all his stuff up and leave? Aoyama’s eyes narrow for a second, but he grits his teeth, clenches his fists and storms off to pick up his own stuff. Both of his parents look shocked at the fact that Aoyama seemed absolutely on-board with the idea, but… if he wanted to leave their miserable life, when they knew he’d come crying back later on anyways… they’ll amuse him, they thought.

He never came back. He took a basketball, a stock of his clothes, the very little savings he had, and most importantly… what little money the Nakazke family had left and took it all for himself from his parents’ room and hid it away in a wallet he hid away between his shorts. And Aoyama barged out the door. Then he ran. And ran. And ran. And he just kept running, refusing to ever look back. If he felt thirsty or hungry, he’d buy a drink and a small snack to eat along the way. If he felt sleepy, he’d rest in an alley or a sidewalk under the night sky, using his bag as a makeshift pillow. And if he ever thought he’d want to go back home, he’ll kick himself in the foot and continue to run.

Aoyama didn’t know where he’d go. He doesn’t even know what his old house’s address was; and what side of the country he’d ended up in by then. But as long as it was far away, by himself, he was okay. And if he ever has to make money again so he can keep surviving long enough to prove those two nutcases wrong… he’ll pick up his ball, dribble it and gamble everything he has against another kid. It doesn’t matter if he gets pushed. It doesn’t matter if he gets hurt.

If someone shoves him, he’ll be able to shove them back. If someone tries to trick him, he won’t just look down and let it go. He’ll live. If only to spite them. If only so he never has to go back to them. And there were bumps, losses, moments of thievery and rumbling into street fights that he’d get into along the way. But he kept getting better and better, stronger and tougher, faster and sneakier. His height became a deceit for what was both a natural and honed gift for street basketball - skillful, agile, and a menace on the court that tore through enemy’s defenses and was speedy to the point that getting past him while he was guarding you felt infuriatingly impossible. Building himself from the bottom up, he was able to get scouted for local teams, make a proper wage for himself, a name was created, and soon enough on his phone, a call from prestige he could only peek through from a window had finally reached him.

Extras:

I got asked this a while back on a Discord server, and I thought I'd put it here too - Aoyama isn't exactly interested in romance (ball is life 💯). While he wouldn't say no to having a partner regardless of their identity, he grew up thinking that it's extremely corny and has a bit of a childish perspective, still half-convinced that cooties actually exist. But half the reason for that is because he's pretty socially inept and has trouble with showing and receiving affection outside of the one thing he's good at. The other half is because he doesn't even know what kind of people he's into and is still figuring things out, though he might have a bit of internalized homophobia having grown up in a somewhat conservative environment. It'd just take some convincing.

Aside from the likes listed above, Aoyama's into trap, hip-hop, and video game music. He's also more likely to hang around people that are rebellious and wild, even if he himself isn't a very loud and proud guy. Maybe it's just him wishing he'd have half the confidence they did. Oh, and he's a pretty frugal guy, tending to take the cheapest and most bang-for-your-buck options at almost anything he goes to.

"Is there anything outlandish he might have an interest in?" - Another question I answered on a server I used to be in. There might be one, actually! I gave it some thought, and I think he has a slight repressed fascination in cosplay! While he himself would never want to wear flashy clothing out in the open, thinking that it'd look ridiculous and cringey; ironically enough, he'd be open to trying it on by himself and pretending to be another person! That... stems from a bit of his insecurity about his own image (physically and mentally), but that is one thing someone who's close with him wouldn't expect for him to be drawn to. He'd probably isolate himself in embarrassment if you ever find out though, so maybe it's best you never find out about that.

#ocs: aoyama nakazke

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iniziare · 4 months

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"If it were me, I'd recite Guizhong's Four Commandments flawlessly from memory. And I'd tell her that her vision and her ideals were alive and well, that the people of this land still remember the things she taught to their ancestors. I think that for someone like Guizhong, who lost everything... that would be the only thing that could lift her spirits."

Important Meta: — Seelie, or potentially the remaining Moon Sister? More of these TBA.

Some tidbits that are incredibly important for my portrayal of Guizhong: (I will be adding to this list over-time and editing these! Last edited: June 2nd, 2024)

Modern timeline. To aid with interactions outside of the Guili Assembly era, I opted to give her a resurrection verse which was created with the intention of minimizing the significance of her presence within the current canonical timeline. Details of it can be found here (with additional information here) and replies within the verse are here.

Guizhong is not maternal and/or nurturing. While it was fanon's assumption (and understandably so, based on the texts we had available) for a long time that she might be someone akin to a 'softer' and motherly-like version of Ningguang, this is not what we were given or shown in 2023's Lantern Rite. Guizhong instead has been shown to harbor an almost youthful curiosity within her nature of an inventor, and a competitiveness that would give many a run for their money. These traits go hand in hand with the innate drive to guide not only the mortals that she leads alongside Morax, but also the adepti that need it, such as for example Xiao after being saved from his former master. I do not ascribe whatsover to the concept of her as any sort of 'mother' towards him or any of the others, she's simply a guiding figure. Any references and/or assumptions of her nature being in any form mother-like will be ignored.

Morax. While by default, I ascribe to the assumption that sometime during their incredibly long 'reign', Morax and Guizhong became more than simply co-rulers of the Guili Assembly next to Marchosius; I won't force this onto anyone who writes within this timeline. What you will see, however, are consistent references of him in threads across the board, as regardless of the nature of their bond, they were intricately connected. And while there will be liberal mentions of the other adepti as Guizhong was canonically quite extroverted and as such, spent significant time with them all, he will be pulled more frequently to the forefront. On that note, in the default for both my past and modern verses, Guizhong is with Morax/Zhongli; specifically with delusionaid's.

#psa. [ it took an elaborate treasure hunt just to preserve the four commandments that were once the lifeblood of a whole civilization. ]#guizhong. [ many things only seem to surface beneath the moon's poignant glow. wherever its light shines; the heart is wont to follow. ]#guizhong: meta. [ her manuscripts lie unfinished in her abode. the blank pages give cause for contemplation on what might have been. ]

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dirtymercysarchive · 1 year

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.. dirtymercys ! // a private rp blog for eden leigh-anne sinclair, a fandomless, original character created by rogue. established in 2021, revamped in 2023. this blog is iconless. blog features : substance abuse, suicide, mental illness, blood and death, gore, satan worshipping, and murder. content not suitable for all viewers.

shade-daughter eden: a woman of death and destruction, turned away from the darkness and into the light. the lost. the hopeful. a shade’s worst nightmare.

LORE AND OTHER TIDBITS ARE BELOW.

001. just be chill, seriously. no kind of hate-speech. we’re all adults, ( at least be over the age of twenty-one to interact with me please ) so treat each other as you want to be treated. i’m nice and easy to get along with, treat me with respect and i’ll do the same for you, it’s as simple as that.

002. this is a safe space for myself and my writing partners. if you need something specific tagged, trigger wise, please let me know and i’ll more than likely oblige. otherwise basic trigger tags will be used.

003. i ship with chemistry. and more than likely, i ship with my out of character friends. this is a multi-verse, multi-ship blog. if that’s not something you’re into, then i’m sorry, this is not a space for you. established relationships otherwise ( familial / platonic / hateship / any other dynamics ) are welcome.

004. this is not my main writing platform. i have obligations that lead me to sometimes be busy and sometimes my brain doesn’t work right and the muse is gone. please take that into consideration if you’re willing to write together.

005. main blog is notladylikes. follows will most likely come from there.

Swanford has been forgotten. People don’t go there, not anymore.

In the early 1800s, the small town was established along a small river known as the Gilded Run, owned by the one and only Silas Delsine. It started out as a mining town, using the small mountainous caverns to collect minerals that could be used to flood the town with wealth. After a mining accident that left most of their town desolate and destroyed, the town was seemingly abandoned and left to ruin. It wasn’t until 1939 when there was a resurrection surrounding the area. Jeremiah Hollingsworth decided that he was going to clean up the town, after being convinced to buy the small area by his wife for dirt cheap. Adelaide Hollingsworth was the real reason for the town’s resurgence, as a refuge for the lost and scared in a time when things weren’t going right around the greater United States.

The caverns, the ones that remained after the mine collapsed, were marked as off limits and that was the perfect place to summon her ancestor, the Shade known as Dar’Kesh, a glorified soul-eater. Things didn’t set themselves in motion for almost twenty years as she built up a foundation for this little town, and soon by soon, things started to happen. It was only a few souls at first, taken from the town in the dead of night, found crazed and out of their minds the next morning.

As time grew, more and more people were taken by what they began to call ‘the hollow’. Nobody could leave, for the Shade made it so enticing to stay that anyone and everyone found happiness amongst the ruin and former wreckage of Swanford. In 1983, a child was born, first to Davis and Odessa Sinclair, Eden would soon become the town’s savior, and her mother’s ruin. For you see, her mother was a generational shade-mother, it was her job to keep things under wraps. But Olivia found her mother’s secret too quickly, and like any young teen, rebelled, especially after her brother and father were both taken by the hollow.

She’s made attempts to stop this madness. She’s tried, and tried, much to no avail. Is it worth it, or will she simply just succumb to it herself?

AGE : mid-twenties to mid-thirties. NICKNAMES : edie. BIRTHDATE : november 21st, ____. SPECIES : human. GENDER : cis-female. SEXUALITY : bisexual. BIRTHPLACE : swanford. OCCUPATION : tattoo artist, owner of eden’s garden. a tattoo parlor in the neighboring town of hargrove fields. PARENTS : davis alexander sinclair ( hollow, deceased ) and odessa beth sinclair ( alive ) . SIBLINGS : riley jason sinclair. ( hollow, alive, currently in fellspring mental institute. ), annabel elyse sinclair ( alive, living with mother ). FACECLAIM : melanie scrofano.

#pinned.#dni.#main blog : notladylikes !#rogue / she/her / thirty.

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watchkept · 4 years

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important note: this is a game version portrayal. i may take certain aspects and tidbits from the show but show joel and my joel ARE NOT the same.

To be pinned:

Hi, I’m Elyse and you’ve found my blog for everyone’s favorite grump dad JOEL MILLER from the last of us. I’ve been rping him since mid 2014 and he’s one of the muses i can’t ever seem to let go of. i’m very dedicated to him and my portrayal of him. And he’s just simply my favorite character of ALL TIME .

RULES / ABOUT / VERSES

PROMOS ( seriously reblog them. help a girl out ) MEMES ( send a lot or a few but i never close memes off . go nuts ) HEADCANONS

Elyse’s blogroll of chaos. my blogs other than this one that get used sometimes that way you know who i am and if you wanna follow me or not. i’m an acquired taste .

@thunderbringer Thor Odinson || Marvel - mainly MCU @serenitysought - Paul Seed || Far Cry 5 - OC @captainredfields - Chris Redfield || Resident Evil.

#pinned post

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katehuntington · 5 years

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Kate’s 300 followers challenge

300 followers; this calls for a celebration! And how better to celebrate this SPN blog that is about fanfiction and fanart, than to host a challenge!

The Theme:

The Unofficial Soundtrack of Supernatural

So many songs remind me of Supernatural and fit their amazing journey perfectly, but where never used on the show. That’s why I build a list of a 100 of my favorite songs that instantly make me think of the beautiful characters of this series.

The Challenge:

Pick a song from the list and take out either a line, a verse or use the entire song for your fanfiction or fanart. Write, paint, draw or edit the song into the story that you are telling.

The Rules:

Both written art and graphic art can participate, as long as it’s Supernatural related. Poems, fanfiction, drawings, graphics, video, you name it. The creator is completely free to choose. You are allowed to pick more than one song, too!

Send me a message with your choice of song. I will update the original post as soon as possible once people will send in their picks.

Mention the song at the top of the post or in the title.

No Wincest. No Smut!Weechester. Not that I am against anyone writing it, but I would like to read and review every entry, and I don’t read this type of ships because they are not my thing. Other ships like Saileen, Destiel, Deanna, Megstiel, Reader x ... etc. are fine.

You can create fluff, angst, smut, reader insert, OFC. Knock yourself out. Do remember to list trigger warnings at the top of your post.

For the writers: there is no minimum or maximum to words. When your story is over 500 words, remember to use the ‘Keep reading’ option.

When you use imagery (or even just gifs), remember to stick to the Tumblr guidelines. It would be a shame if anything got flagged.

I would like to be able to read and check out all the beautiful things you all are going to create, so use the tag #Kate’s 300 followers challenge.

I will reblog all the artwork that stick to the rules above.

The Challenge ends on July 27th 2019. That gives you 3 months!

The List:

The list can be found on Spotify. Type ‘Kate’s 300 followers challenge’ in Spotify’s search engine to find it, or click the link. *CLICK*

You can also find the list if you scroll down and click ‘Keep reading.’

I cannot WAIT to see all you wonderful entries! This is gonna be so much fun. Bring it, people! Bring me all the wonderful art you girls and boys create.

Don’t hesitate to spread, tag and reblog this post! The more the merrier!

@littlegreenplasticsoldier @idreamofhazel @winchest09 @kittenofdoomage @coffee-obsessed-writer @alwayskeepfightingkaz-2y5 @atc74 @kathaswings @mrswhozeewhatsis @emilyshurley @brokencasbutt67-writer @oneshoeshort @thinkwritexpress-official @imamotherfuckingstar-lord @fangirl-and-medstudent-help @luci-in-trenchcoats @spiritofoblivion @idreamofplaid @erins-culinary-service @canadianspnhunter @impala-dreamer @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @supermoonpanda @supernatural-jackles

Long As I Can See The Light - Creedence Clearwater Revival

With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker

American Pie - Don McLean

Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones

Hurt - Johnny Cash

Dust In The Wind - Kansas

Death And All His Friends - Coldplay

Livin’ On The Edge - Aerosmith

Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits

Another 45 Miles - Golden Earring

Let It Be - The Beatles

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd - @coffee-obsessed-writer

Alive - Pearl Jam

Seven Devils - Florence + The Machine

Lightning Crashes - Live

Leave A Light On - Tom Walker

God’s Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash

Turn The Page - Metallica

Against The Wind - Bob Seger

Stairway To Heaven - Led Zeppelin

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley - @nickelkeep

Fix You - Coldplay - @thefaithfulwriter

Need The Sun To Break - James Bay

Way Down We Go - KALEO

Timshel - Mumford & Sons

Green Eyes - Coldplay - @thefaithfulwriter

Imagine - John Lennon

I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab for Cutie - @littlegreenplasticsoldier

Breathe Me - Sia - @castielslittlestbee

Big Black Car - Gregory Alan Isakov

Black - Pearl Jam

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes @thefaithfulwriter

Sorry - Kensington

Landslide - Fleedwood Mac

Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton

Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Lucinda Williams

Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

Halo Of Flies - Alice Cooper

Ain’t No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Just Breathe - Pearl Jam

No Good - KALEO

Human - Rag’n Bone Man

Brother - NEEDTOBREATHE ft. Gavin DeGraw - @tumbler-tidbits

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin

Yesterday - The Beatles

Running To Stand Still - U2

Trouble - Ray LaMontagne

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N’ Roses

Angel Dream (No. 2) - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - @coffee-obsessed-writer

Ain’t No Grave - Johnny Cash

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel

Creep - Radiohead

Iris - Goo Goo Dolls - @whatareyousearchingfordean

Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf

Ramble On - Led Zeppelin

Elysium - Bear’s Den

Not About Angels - Birdy

Heal - Tom Odell

Brother - Matt Corby

Redemption Day - Johnny Cash

Seven Bridges Road - Ricochet

Bed Of Roses - Bon Jovi

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

Stand By Me - Jason Manns

The Wicked - Blues Saraceno

99 Problems - Hugo

Save My Soul - Blues Saraceno

Blaze Of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi

Righteous Smoke - Monster Truck

So Far From Your Weapon - The Dead Weather

Street Spirit (Fade Out) - Radiohead

The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel

Welcome To The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

Heartbreaker - Led Zeppelin

Heartache Tonight - The Eagles

Time Is Running Out - Muse @brokencasbutt67-writer

Storm - Lifehouse

Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own - U2

About Today - The National

Wish It Was True - The White Buffalo

Saturn - Sleeping At Last

Desperado - The Eagles

To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra ft. Patrick Watson

Broken Halos - Chris Stapleton

Guiding Light - Foy Vance ft. Ed Sheeran

Hurricane - Thirty Seconds To Mars - @winchest09

Good Times Bad Times - Led Zeppelin

Inside My Head - Di-Rect

I Still Cry - Ilse DeLange

My Best Wasn’t Good Enough - Kane - @emilyshurley

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

Knokken’ On Heaven’s Door - Avril Lavigne

Simple Man - Jensen Ackles

What Makes A Good Man? - The Heavy

Bottom Of The River - Delta Rae

“Heroes”- David Bowie

A New Day Yesterday - Jethro Pull

#Kate's 300 followers challenge #challenge #writing challenge #writers challenge #Supernatural challenge #SPN challenge #Dean Winchester #Sam Winchester #Castiel #fanfiction #fanfic #SPN fanfiction #SPN fanfic #Supernatural fanfiction #Supernatural fanfic #Kate Huntington

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bizarre-dollhouse · 7 years

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Yana Toboso’s Writing Style: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I’LL STOP WRITING LONG WINDED KURO POSTS WHEN I’M DEAD.

I do my best to stay out of Kuro discourse because...I just hate it and find it’s usually about stuff that’s pretty trivial in the grand scheme of things. But within the past several months I’ve noticed a new point of contention is the author herself, which I think is an actual good point of contention because it opens up an interesting conversation about the work as a whole and how/why Kuro is the way it is (aka good, bad, and...tonally confused to say the least).

And just to make things perfectly clear, this is an opinion piece about Yana Toboso’s strengths and weaknesses as a mangaka. This is not me telling people that they’re viewing the series all wrong and that I’m right. I just want to open up a discussion (in fact, I welcome people disagreeing with me, I just want it to be clear that this is not an attack on other people’s opinions, it’s just my opinions).

Lots of text under the cut.

I’m going to start with what I like about Kuro, since I’ve been reading it for like, 5 years and own 25 volumes of it (including one I just bought like 2 weeks ago).

The Good:

What I think is by far Yana’s biggest strength is her characters. They all have very distinct personalities, but aren’t just one note. There’s also a lot of them; one thing that struck me when I reread all of Kuro was just how big the cast is and how it feels even bigger because a very large portion of the cast have their own arcs, whether it be during the course of the series or in their backstories (or both).

Even the villains are a really good variety of comedic, evil/scary, and sympathetic (except maybe the first mobster guy but the first arc kinda sucks anyway and is mostly just for plot establishment. And I guess the curry contest guy kinda sucks too but that arc is all about Soma and Agni so I can give it a pass). Baron Kelvin is piss-your-pants terrifying in his appearance, actions, and behaviour, but still has a backstory that isn’t at all sympathetic but makes you understand his motivations.

I think that’s the key for all of the villains/characters in general; everyone has motivations that make sense even if they’re not relatable.

I also think the fact that most people in the fandom want spin-offs (about the reapers, Vincent and Dee, the servants, the season 2 cast, etc.) is indicative of how good these characters are. There’s a sense that most of them could hold their own story.

I also think that the characters interact well with each other, whether it be in a fun way or a more serious way. Narrowing it down to the 2 mains, one aspect of Kuro that keeps me coming back is how Ciel and Sebastian work off of each other with their dialogue and general attitude towards each other. They’re both in a weird position where they kind of hate each other (Seb finds Ciel annoying and troublesome while Ciel is always a little afraid of Seb) but also need each other (Ciel needs protection/a weapon of mass destruction, and Sebastian needs food). Due to this weird situation, they’ve developed this comedic dialogue that’s kind of born from their repressed emotions. TBH the way they work off of each other has made them my favourite sherlock/watson duo.

The only flaw with the character writing I think is Sebastian, who’s kind of inconsistent. But chapter 137 served as a kind of reminder that his human personality is 100% an act (aside from maybe his cat fascination...). But yeah, for the most part Kuro has a top notch cast.

Another thing I think Yana is really good at is foreshadowing. This might be a touch contentious, but I maintain my earlier stance that a big reason people hate the 2ct being canon is because of expectations and the fact that it’s a cliche is western culture (and personal taste, of course). Rereading the series was unbelievable because there were so many “AHA�� moments and “how could I have been so blind?” moments. I think any plot twist that makes you go back and read a series and say “ooooh thaaaat’s what that waaaaas” like 90 times had some good set up to it. (Actually rereading the Campania and the Green Witch arcs made me feel like it might have even been too obvious...but a lot of people still didn’t catch it so, kudos).

Even in the Curry arc there’s tidbits of foreshadowing for the servants backstories, and I’m sure other speculation that’s going on right now will have some pay off in future chapters (some of it, anyway). All in all, the series made for a great second go because of all the little hints that can be caught once you know future plot points.

Yana Toboso also has a lot of really good ideas. The execution can go either way, but the concepts of most (definitely not all) of the Kuro arcs are like...really great. Some of them are these alternate spins on history that come from these creative supernatural elements (side note: I like how the zombies in the kuro-verse bite people because they want to consume a soul, but can never succeed. It’s both creative and a little fucked up). Or then there’s something like the Green Witch arc that plays out like a Scooby Doo episode but it’s got all of this weird stuff about war and poison and psychology and dreams and other good shit. Even though I think the cricket match went on for way to long, I’ll admit that the idea of this evil genius murderous noble achieving his goals by cheating at the worlds most boring sport is kind of funny.

I hate the boyband arc though I’m sorry that was not a good idea i hat--

Despite some fan-servicy bits (which I’ll talk about A LOT later) Kuroshitsuji feels like a passion project. This is pure speculation, but if you read the extra behind the scenes bits in the manga volumes, Yana talks about all of the books she read to prepare for this, or how she actually took cricket lessons with her editor despite the fact that they were awkwardly old to be in beginner lessons. She also did a shit ton of work for anime-only character designs and other promotional stuff while still publishing a chapter every month.

Even without the “behind the scenes” stuff, the amount of references that can be found in her work and the fact that she never misses a month even when she’s publishing bonus chapters gives off the sense that she cares about this.

Though again, 100% speculation.

I also hugely appreciate the mixture of comedy and tragedy in Kuro. (It opens up some problems, but we’ll get to those later). It’s not a slog to get through but it also doesn’t feel...pointless? I guess?? It’s mostly a dark comedy with action-y moments that then becomes a genuine horrific tragedy. It’s kind of hard to explain why I like this combo, but if it helps anyone relate to what i’m saying, it’s like the tone shifts in Angel Beats and how that show is both enjoyable and a total cry-fest. Same with Kuro except with different genre trappings. There’s a sense that anything could happen since it’s not all tied to one tone. Tone pieces definitely aren’t a bad thing, but I like the huge variety that can be found in this one series.

That being said...

The Bad:

I’ve said this approximately 37359767 times on this blog, but I’ll say it again.

Kuroshitsuji has a pacing problem. A really bad pacing problem.

There’s literally an arc where Ciel goes to a school, makes some enemies Mean Girls style, plays sports, and then finds out the bad guy is the same bad buy from the last arc who’s plans have changed only slightly. This is one of the longest arcs in the series.

This. Strikes me as a bad idea from a structural standpoint. The arc isn’t really a bad idea, but it’s like...a 2 volume idea, y’know?

I’ve already talked at length about how bad the pacing of the blue cult arc was so i won’t repeat myself but, yeah. Unbelievable waste of time also huge missed opportunity for a Phantom of the Opera spoof like are you kidding me ALL OF THE PIECES WERE THER--

A lot of people complain about the Green Witch arc’s pacing since it’s really long and has a weird act structure (which it is and does respectively). This is something that doesn’t bother me at all but I feel like it’s worth bringing up since it bothered a lot of people, so maybe it’s something I just don’t see.

Also even though I like the mix of comedy and horror/tragedy, sometimes it doesn’t flow very well. This is especially apparent in the boyband arc, where the jump from stupid to serious is break-neck, and the lack of interesting events that happen in the school arc.

Kuroshitsuji is also at a disadvantage being a monthly publication instead of a weekly one, which makes the stretched out parts feel even more stretched out. It isn’t tailored to this release schedule (although I wouldn’t know how to fix this particular problem other than to just...tighten things up pacing wise).

Yana also has a tendency to expect her readers to read her mind. What I mean by this is that she’ll say things on twitter/her blog like “Sebastian is the main character of Kuro” or “Ciel and Sebastian have no emotional connection,” and like a million other things.

....She says it like it’s obvious but if you go on tumblr or forums or anywhere...clearly not everyone sees these things and will often ask questions about her posts because they seem so not-obvious.

Which is super weird because (if I remember correctly), she once said that people can interpret her work however they want, but she seems to be actively discouraging that.

This is another thing that makes me think Kuro is a passion project. It’s like she feels the need to make sure everyone sees everything that she’s thought of...but it doesn’t work if it’s not actually weaved into the narrative, then it’s just confusing.

This bothers me a lot because as a university English Major I’ve had “Death of the Author” drilled into my brainstem and Yana’s actively fighting me on it. Please make things more obvious in your story if you want readers to understand them.

Of course there’s a bunch of supernatural inconsistencies like “if Sebastian/the reapers/this supernatural thing could do this, why couldn’t they do this? how does this work?” (like, it’s implied that the reapers can make themselves invisible to humans if they want...so why do Grell and Ron show up to the Campania in full visibility? All the time?). Stuff like this is a problem with literally every supernatural story ever, so I try not to harp on it, but it’s there.

Tiiiiiiime for the most contentious topic.

The Ugly:

I’ll say this a bluntly and straightforward as I possibly can: Kuroshitsuji is kind of perverted.

It is.

While the rumour that Kuroshitsuji was supposed to be a yaoi has been thoroughly debunked, Yana did used to draw BL staring young boys under the name “Yanao Rock.”

....Yeeeaaaah it unfortunately comes through in Kuro. The unbelievably infamous corset scene is played as a joke, but it is the most perverted joke in the history of the universe.

One thing that blows my mind (in a bad way) is that one panel where Ciel’s having an asthma attack (you all know exactly what I’m talking about) and it can be so easily seen as looking pornographic when out of context. There’s also that recent cover page (I believe for chapter 136?) where RC and OC are lying in a kind of state of undress and they look really pretty even though the context is horrifying.

Also that scene of RC swallowing the ring is drawn really pretty which is...a weird scene to have drawn really pretty.

i’ve heard people say that this all means nothing and we’re all reading too much into it, which I don’t buy for a second. I’ve also heard people say it’s for fujoshi fan service to which I’m kind of like....maybe?

This is based on 100% speculation, not at all fact, but I think the most obvious explanation is Yana is drawing beautiful boys in weird positions because she’s good at/likes drawing beautiful boys.

I’m not saying this is a good thing or an ironclad excuse, because it’s noooot. It comes across as pretty tasteless, especially given recent developments. It reminds me of the snake arc in Bakemonogatari or the weird shit that’s in the Made in Abyss manga; like this sexual shit feels very odd in these stories but there’s a sinking feeling that the author threw it in for their own enjoyment, like they were maaaybe trying to be sneaky and failed.

That being said, in that one particular scene in chapter 135 that actually deals with legit sexual abuse, I...didn’t think that sexualization felt perverted outside the context of the narrative (IT DEFINITELY WAS PERVERTED WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE NARRATIVE, DON’T GET ME WRONG). And this isn’t just going off of Yana’s bullshit tweet because, like I said earlier, these things should be clear to the audience within the work itself. It was nasty as fuck, but I could see a scene being portrayed similarly in something like Berserk or Game of Thrones or any grim dark story, and no one being as mad at the creator BUT

BUUUUUUUUT that’s the issue! Kuroshitsuji is not Berserk or Game of Thrones! The issue with the series being a tonal cluster-fuck is that scenes about explicit sexual assault don’t fit in a black comedy formula so it feels weird. THIS ISSUE IS EXACERBATED GREATLY BY THE LACK OF TACT DISPLAYED IN OTHER SCENES THAT CAN BE READ AS/ARE SEXUAL. Yana made it really hard for this scene to be okay by being all loose with tone and the visual presentation of younger male characters earlier in the series.

Huge problem. Very unfortunate.

Conclusions:

I felt compelled to make this post because Kuroshitsuji is a series where the artist is not abstract. With most shows or movies people say “that movie was good” or “that show was bad” or whatever. But in Kuro discourse it’s always “Yana Toboso did bad” or “Yana Toboso did good.”

I’m not saying this is bad....(in fact it’s probably good since Yana (and K-san) are being rightfully complimented/dragged based on the merit of their work) It is interesting, though, that Kuro discourse made a sliiiight shift from the work to the author. So, this was me trying to tie the author and the work together.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #Yana Toboso #text

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theliterarywitch · 6 years

Text

An Introduction to Divination

What is Divination? Who can practice it? What should it be used for? Whether you're a fledgeling witch just starting out or a tenured practitioner well versed in the different types of magic, one way or another you're more than likely going to find yourself coming across the term "Divination." For some of you, you're trying to deep-dive into the theory and practice of Divination, trying to reach out and grasp the knowledge that will allow you to strengthen and exercise your psychic ability and intuitiveness. For others, you may just be wishing to touch up on some magical knowledge. Either way, here's a collection of some thorough information I've gathered on Divination, and different facets of the craft. Some of the information is borrowed from online resources I've combed, so enjoy!

What is it?

Essentially, Divination is a practice of magic in which someone attempts to get an insight into a question or situation they have, by using ritual work and application. Although a lot of people who practice Divination have different ideas and follow different traditions in regards to the craft, the basic general understanding is that with Divination someone can interpret messages gathered from either their own collective unconscious or from communication with the natural/spiritual world.

While a lot of people practice Divination by using tools such as a Scrying Glass, Tarot Cards, etc, Divination can also be done without the implementation of physical substances. For example, instead of relying on a Tarot Deck specifically, someone can get a bit of insight by going through some deep meditation and connecting to a spiritual guide of sorts. Either way, the base-divinatory skill that's the most important is the ability to still your mind, so that you can open up the gateway for information and notions to pass through without your judgement or anything clouding it.

Psychic Ability and You

For some people, whether they follow Pagan/spiritual traditions or not, the innate psychic ability that we're all born with is fairly pronounced and evident. In truth, everyone possesses some form of latent psychic talent, it's just that for some it's more obvious, where with others it's more like a well within their body, waiting to be tapped into. Some of us are able to completely divine the future or whatever we're looking for, while others get mere grasps and messages from the spiritual/natural world. With knowledge of what Pschic Ability is, most consider there to be a few different types of Pschic Talent.

*Precognition, which is when you have the ability to know the future, or see glimpses into it. Some people with precognition abilities are able to get very definite messages, while others get more vague ideas of stuff that's gonna happen.

*Intuition, which is that gut feeling you get when you just KNOW something without being shown or told. Intuitive people make awesome Tarot readers, and another word for intuition is "clairsentience."

*Clairvoyance, the ability to see or know things that are hidden. Locating lost objects, finding hidden paths, things like that.

*Empathy, wich is the ability to sense feelings, thoughts and emotions from another person. People with a great deal of empathy are known as Empaths, and they can be so strongly influenced by someone elses energies that they often need to develop methods of shielding themselves from it.

*Another form of psychic ability can be found in that of a Medium, which is someone who gets direct or indirect contact from the Spirit World. Some can hear or see actual spirits, while other people get messages through dreams or visions. A few people can actually allow the spirit they're communicating with/through to use them as a vessel of sorts, the spirit writing or speaking through the Medium.

Flexing your Psychic Muscle

Ultimately, the all-time best method of honing your psychic talent is through meditation, because it allows us to sort of comb through our subconscious and sort through everything that's there. However, there are other little tidbits and whatnot that you can do that will help as well.

*Acheive deliberate clarity. To do this, you need to train yourself and work torwards being aware of everything around you. Pick up on and take note of everything that's happening in the world around you; Changes in the sunlight, shifts in the shadows. Consider the change in direction and intensity of the wind, etc. This will help you out later on, help you interpret what's real and what's not in regards to the messages you're going to be getting through your craft.

*Listen to what's being said, and what's not. A lot of times, someone might say one thing, but mean or be leaving out another. If you ask someone how they're doing, they may say "Fine. The kids are good..." but there's no mention of their spouse, so perhaps there's a reason for that. Understand that omission is still a form of communication.

*Meditate regularly. One of the best ways to strengthen your flexible ability is to meditate.

*Learn to trust your gut.

*Write everything down. If you ever have a dream about someone, or a particular situation, write it down. If you get an intense feeling that something's gonna happen, write it down. By keeping a journal of the times you experience these feelings/dreams and whatnot, you can go back and look through them to see if they hold any validity. Did the thing you thought was gonna happen come to pass? Bear in mind, sometimes we get messages that we can never confirm, because there's just no way of knowing.

*Test yourself. If you ever get a hunch or feeling about something, try to confirm if you're right or if that hunch is valid. If you're gonna meet with your friend later, try and guess what kind of music she's listening to in her car, or what you guys might talk about when she gets there. When she arrives, ask her, or wait to see if it happens. When your phone rings, before you look at the Caller ID try and guess who's calling. Visualize it, imagine it. When you answer the phone, see if you're correct. Little exercises like this will help you develop your innate abilities.

*Practice helps. If I could double-bold that, I would. Practice with things like Divination is NOT going to make you perfect, but it will allow you to sharpen your intuitive talent so that you can proceed down the path that suits you.

Tip for Divination

Some people like to perform spellwork or rituals will do some form of Divination prior to magical application, to help them decide how they should go about their spellcasting. Alternatively, some like to perform Divination AFTER spellwork to see get a feel for the general success of what they've done.

All in all, Divination is a very fulfilling and spiritually expansive practice, that can really open our minds to a world of possibilities, allowing us to have an idea of what we're dealing with before it hits us in the face. A lot of people write Divination off as just guesswork and scams, but those people don't realize that when we practice Divination, we're not simply predicting someone's future. OK...Maybe we are, but that's not all we're doing. When we do readings and predictions, we're giving ourselves a brief look into different situations and ideas that we have. Starting a new job? Getting married? Want to know how to connect better with loved ones? Divination allows us to look at these challenges and possible things we're gonna face, and determine the right way to go about them, or what to expect.

Maybe you don't feel right practicing Divination, maybe it's not something you support or hold validity in. That's perfectly fine, it's still something that I feel everyone should at least have an idea about or read up on, and I hope the information I've gathered guides your way somehow down your magical or spiritual path.

***NOTE, I am a Literary Witch, meaning that the majority of my spellwork/ritual cleansing and whatnot consists of study and research. The information gathered here has been collected from various sites, blogs, and other means of study. Sites like ThoughtCo have been used. I've added my own personal twist to the wording and whatnot, but I do not claim credit for work recognized or found in other forms of media.

#literarywitchcraft #witchcraft #divination #fortunetelling #magic #witch #bookwitch #seer #tarot #tarot cards #tea leaves

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dawnofspeed · 7 years

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8 & 9 !!

8. what writers influenced the way that you yourself write? how so? are there any that influenced you negatively?

my mum’s side is very British. Well, Aussie British. Because my grandparents and great-grandparents moved between England, Ireland and Australia all their lives, my mum was raised here but spent a few years in Britain and grew up with a lot of British Literature, History and media. When I was young I read a lot of classics, so I think my biggest influences were things like Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, the Brontes, etc. When I was living in Europe my aunt, who was teaching in England at the time, was also my only source of new books in English and I spent those two years reading J.K. Rowling, some JRR Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Judy Blume. As a teenager I think the author that challenged me the most was Vladimir Nabokov, his mastery of language and style was just... beautiful. I think for me now, my style is a mixture of some rather old school stuff with dorky new language conventions thrown in. My favourite aspect of those stories was not only the way they commanded language, but also the way they described things. Description of not only people, and places but how they could make you feel something.

In terms of negatively... Jane Austen. I’ll be honest, I loved English. I loved studying things like The Crucible, To Kill A Mockingbird, Saving Francesca, Shakespeare. But then we got to Jane Austen. Here’s the thing: I love Jane’s characters, I love her world, I think she has good plotlines, I admire what she did for the genre and for writing/literature but... I hate her style. I found it hard to read, it went on for pages never going anywhere. I can sit through JK Rowling describing all the foods at the Great Hall, or C.S. Lewis describing every creature in Aslan’s army. But... Jane’s descriptions never felt like they achieved anything. It was all noise. And for that reason I never enjoyed reading her work. I do love film and tv (and youtube) adaptations though.

I think it’s my love of novel and novel style that has made it hard for me as a screenwriter. My brain doesn’t like to write the way a screenwriter does and it takes a lot of discipline and drafts for me to get not only something that I’m happy with but that I can submit as a script. Film is such a visual language that as a screenwriter it’s hard for me to let some of that description of people and feeling go... and then I take it back too much and they ask for more details. It’s just. Hard.

sidenote: I have a list of books I love and I also have a list of books I think deserve to be adapted. if any of you want to know more about these hit me up. I love talking lit.

sidenote sidenote: I think reading in other languages has helped, too. You don’t realise that other languages have different punctuation and structures until you read in it and see how an author creates something that works really well in that language.

9. when you see a partner’s response to a thread, what are common misconceptions/assumptions you see other characters making about yours? is that purposeful?

Honestly? There hasn’t been much made about Dawn? I think the most common assumption is that she’s an OC, which is not surprising given that DC ignored the Twins and used them as plot points. And because there’s so little information a lot of my Dawn has become conjecture, headcanons, and tidbits from the comics expanded. I think sometimes she’s brash, or snarky and rubs people the wrong way. And I understand when other muses react the way they do, but it’s when the muns don’t get it that I struggle with trying to get across that she doesn’t mean to be insulting, or even rude. Sometimes she’s saying something because she’s angry and she has a lot of pent up hurt or rage, and sometimes she’s saying something because she is just a very upfront, brazen person. It’s easier with AUs or tv or movie verse because, to date, Barry hasn’t left his kids, and they haven’t grown up in a horrible future where everyone hates them and hunts them.

I’ve had assumptions on other blogs where people assume I’m not POC, and get up me about stuff. Like when I told someone that their white fc for a poc character made me uncomfortable, and they were like you’re not poc get out. That one kinda sucks. I’ve had people reiterate fandom ideas about a character as if it were bible and tell me I’m doing things wrong. I’ve gotten hate on a blog before because even though I’d been around longer people preferred a different blog and then told me I was stealing ideas. I was just confused on that front tbh. But yeah, overall not a lot of misconceptions or assumptions. But I also try really hard to make sure I’m not misrepresenting characters or cultures. I think, with the case of Dawn for example, I’m trying hard to translate my own feelings about misconceptions and stigma and racism about my life into hers, but also read up on American situations and cultural identity of African Americans, and right now I’m doing more research on Jewish traditions and holidays and practices for my DCEU universe. I’m not infalliable, and I’ve been rping for years so I think at this point I’ve made mistakes that have taught me to take on criticism and suggestions and keep going. I think RP has taught me a lot about writing and audiences and life over the past... 6-7 years. And it’s important to just yeah, take things on board and admit mistakes and learn.

#long post #long post for ts #thanks for this!#bengalisms

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thatkidwholovesmusic-blog · 7 years

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Review of Charlie Puth’s “Attention”

Welcome to my FIRST review on my blog! I’m so proud to finally launch this for me to share my love of music, and gain experience in writing about music that I love. I hope to be able to post at least one review a week.

Give it a like, a share, a repost - whatever you do to share content you love, on whatever social media outlet you prefer. Thanks so much for reading!

Song Review - “Attention”

First off, I love Charlie. I really, really do. If you read my crazy long Tumblr bio, it may make sense why – he has a classic style reminiscent of the Doo-Wop days of old that I love (this is most present in his first EP post-signing with Atlantic, Some Type of Love, that won my heart), mixing it in with his unmatched understanding of contemporary pop music. Seeing that I love him, it’s appropriate for my first review on this brand-spanking-new blog to be of his first release of 2017, Attention (Atlantic Records).

youtube

The song itself opens with an unassuming guitar riff that seemed vaguely familiar when I first heard it, so I scrolled through some of his tracks off of Nine Track Mind and found that it reminded me slightly of the opening piano riff in Suffer (again, this is only a vague comparison, they’re obviously different). Following that riff, we hear Puth’s signature falsetto and humming, which pretty much makes its way into almost every song of his. When Puth starts actually singing, we’re hearing, for the most part, his actual voice – much like his normal speaking voice. In many of Puth’s previous tracks, he goes a few octaves higher for significant portions of the songs. This difference is even more noticeable because of how starkly different the foundational beat of the song is, as compared to his other work. His venture into higher octaves is reserved primarily for the track’s hook…more on that later. Additionally, the entire beat is held together solely by Puth’s voice and the repeating guitar riff all the way up until the pre-chorus.

Most Charlie Puth tracks primarily feature a piano, as this is his go-to instrument and specialty. However, this song has what appears to be pretty much NO keyboards! Crazy, I know. If anything, there’s the slightest bit of a keyboard in the pre-chorus, but it’s mainly just to indicate that the song is nearing the chorus, adding an extra layer to the music before stripping most of it in the hook. The notable absence of a piano taking center stage in the song supports my understanding that considering that this is Puth’s first release of 2017, and so many little things are drastically different than his usual style, that he is preparing to enter and experiment with a different side of himself and his music.

Now let’s talk about that great hook – every instrument is stripped out, and all we hear is a bass guitar playing the riff from earlier (just way lower and deeper, obviously) and Charlie singing the hook:

“You just want attention, you don’t want my heart Maybe you just hate the thought of me with someone new Yeah, you just want attention, I knew from the start You’re just making sure I’m never gettin’ over you, oh”

The verses afterwards add a few more beats, more layers to the song, but every time that hook hits – it’s mostly just Puth and that bass. The bridge has a similar stripped down pattern, showcasing only Puth’s voice, but instead of the bass guitar playing the song’s riff, the guitar from the beginning returns. By the end of the song, most every instrumental layer returns to join Puth’s voice in proclaiming how much this ex-girl just wants ATTENTION - and nothing more.

Lastly, there’s a bit of an unexpected break (plus Puth taking a breath/sighing) at the end of the final pre-chorus. Most of us would think it’s there intentionally, but I noticed on the song’s Genius page that Puth had addressed the extra breath and break in the song to Elvis Duran and the Morning show, and I liked his comments on it, so I thought I might as well include it here:

All in all, I really love this song, as it’s a clear departure from the vibe of Nine Track Mind and shows Puth going deeper into the standard pop/dance club-ish genre, leaving his piano behind, and relying more heavily on his vocal abilities and a simple guitar riff to hold the song together. What’s more? You can actually listen to the voice note that Charlie made for himself when he had the idea for this song in Tokyo Japan - it’s at the end of the music video, and it sounds nearly identical to the final product, which is pretty awesome if you ask me, and shows just how insanely talented Charlie Puth is.

Also, a quick tidbit on the cover art: My 5th grade English teacher insisted that books should, in fact, be judged by their covers (”because why the hell would a good book have a crappy cover?”), and I feel that this equally applies to cover art for music…

On that thought, this is notably Charlie Puth’s first release in which the cover art does not feature him in any way. Using a simple sans serif font in all caps kept the message of the song clear yet intriguing, and the change of the “i” to an exclamation point was sneakily creative. Charlie’s fans are surely used to seeing him featured on his music artwork, and the omission of his likeness, as well as the usage of such bold colors (red and black) rather than Puth’s normally neutral, mellow colors (Some Type of Love was very pastel, and Nine Track Mind was a calming yellow, with Puth in an off-green suit) are, again (in my opinion) meant to signal a kind of shift in Puth’s sound, possibly towards an edgier side of Pop that even Puth hasn’t played with yet, but seemed to flirt with very slightly throughout Nine Track Mind.

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fapangel · 8 years

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"Trump's approval rating is at 37%, the lowest at this point in the presidency of any president since Gallup began tracking it in 1945. Correspondingly, his disapproval rating has hit 58%." (From ABC) Have you stopped drinking the flavour-aid yet?

So it’s improved since the election, then:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/197231/trump-clinton-finish-historically-poor-images.aspx?g_source=scalometer&g_medium=search&g_campaign=tiles

Trump had the highest unfavorable score in “presidential polling history,” challenged only by... Hillary herself, only 9 points behind. And remember that this is skewed towards older voters by the realities of modern polling (cell phone polls being very expensive, and most people under 30 don’t have a landline at all anymore.)

And yet, he still won the election! Magic!?

See, this is the problem with you shitheads - the endless self-affirming back-patting ego-stroking circlejerk. Fuck the blatant facts of reality, such as, you know, who won the election. All you need is one tidbit snatched out of context to lube up with and away you go, wanking into my inbox. Recent example - one day I pulled out my phone, checked Google News, and found (as I often do) several papers running the same headline on the same week:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/20/donald-trump-will-start-his-presidency-with-the-smallest-confirmed-cabinet-in-decades/?utm_term=.fce37216561a (Feb. 2nd)

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170219/trumps-cabinet-pick-confirmations-are-taking-longer-than-obamas-did (Feb. 19th)

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/blame-trump-not-democrats-the-administrations-empty-offices (Feb. 20th)

http://ktla.com/2017/02/25/nearly-2000-positions-remain-vacant-in-president-trumps-cabinet-data-shows/ (Feb. 25th)

SECOND VERSE FAKE AS THE FIRST A WHOLE LOT LOUDER AND A WHOLE LOT WORSE

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/03/trump-is-blaming-the-democrats-for-cabinet-delays-that-are-normal-and-his-own-fault/?utm_term=.9be258c12465 (March 3rd)

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/25/politics/donald-trump-cabinet-vacancies/ (March 25th)

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/24/trumps-cabinet-waiting-for-confirmation.html (March 24th)

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/trump-still-hasnt-done-very-much-214932 (March 20th)

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445709/trumps-skeletal-crew-sub-cabinet-positions-unfilled (March 12th)

Endless circlejerking over how many empty cabinet seats Trump has - despite it being entirely the fault of dogged, deliberate and bullheaded Democratic obstructionism, as these same media outlets reported:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/confirmation-no-votes/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/23/democrats-insatiable-opposition-to-donald-trump/?utm_term=.1728575c1eef

http://a.abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/democrats-delay-fight-trump-cabinet-picks-45187865

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-boycott-committee-votes-trumps-picks-treasury-health/story?id=45168280

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/inside-dncs-war-room-trump-cabinet-confirmation-hearings/story?id=44718051 (”WAR ROOM”.)

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-s-cabinet-nominees-slog-through-messy-confirmation-process-n716166

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/how-senate-democrats-have-voted-each-donald-trump-s-cabinet-n715561

Oh, fuck son, I’m not done. You know how the media has kept putting the OMG RUSSIA thing on their front pages by openly reporting lies, slanders and “leaks” from “~sources~ we can’t name teehee?” Here’s them all circlejerking over it, as if they had nothing to do with it:

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-11-02/questions-linger-about-trumps-relationship-with-russia (reprinted AP wire story)

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/2016/11/questions_linger_about_trumps_relationship_with_russia

http://buffalonews.com/2017/01/11/despite-decent-news-conference-questions-linger-trumps-readiness/

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/15/politics/trump-russia-issues/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38966846

So, back to Gallup polls:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx

Do you understand what I’m telling you, here? We’re used to this. We’re used to you smug fucks calling us “idiots that voted against our own self-interest” and sneering that we’ll soon be wallowing in regret. This is typically followed by increasing desperation and passive-aggressive nastiness (they’re not wallowing yet why won’t they fucking wallow!?) followed by a shift to exploring why Republicans are all fucking sheep led by the nose and/or how is the love child of the Pied Piper and Robspierre. This is the definition of the smug style. There you are, sneering in my inbox, wondering if I’m tasting the bitter fruits of not following the correct opinions yet.

As usual the WaPo provides many reliable examples:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-supporters-see-a-successful-president--and-are-frustrated-with-critics-who-dont/2017/02/19/496cb4b4-f6ca-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html?utm_term=.4a027830df89

Their audience literally needs it explained to them that supporters of a President think he’s successful and are frustrated with those that don’t. This isn’t common sense or even “the most basic of human psychology” to them, they need this explained.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/24/meet-5-people-who-think-president-trump-is-off-to-a-great-start/?utm_term=.50bf801b67f4

“Inside the minds of Trump supporters.” Like they put out a MAGA hat and an American flag on a lawn, and when a Trump supporter approaches Chris Hansen steps out and asks them to take a seat so we may probe the mysterious recesses of their warped minds.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/02/23/trump-will-likely-sell-out-his-working-class-white-base-heres-how/?utm_term=.70cc66e2f614

“H-HE’LL BETRAY THEM, ANY DAY NOW!”

In case you haven’t realized yet - Trump won the election. Not only that, but Republicans swept Congress, too. The media was smugging over the candidates who tried to distance themselves from Trump during the campaign, only for those candidates to do worse, on average, then ones that embraced him. Your party has been repudiated in the most final and meaningful way possible, in large part by the very people you claim to represent and champion, in states that haven’t voted Republican since Reagan - or Reagan’s VP, Bush Sr. A lot of the people you’re sneering at as beguiled, misled fools are union guys who’ve voted Democrat most, if not all their lives.

And you can’t comprehend it. Instead, you - of the party that reviled, slandered and ultimately destroyed McCarthy, you, of the party who’s last President smugly sniped at his opponent for indulging in outdated cold-war paranoia of Russians - now see evil Russkies under every couch cushion as a way to rationalize your defeat. You use hashtag #RESIST like you’re hiding in the woods fighting fucking Nazis, you call us Nazis, you make lurid and increasingly demented predictions of Trump’s impending impeachment for the high crime of not agreeing with you, and in the most extreme cases, you resort to complete and total fantasy without any veneer of reality left:

http://www.hillarybeattrump.org/

This is a site full of “news articles” from an alternate reality where Hillary won. It’s literal fantasy. Here’s another splendid dose of utter bugfuck insanity from a published YA author on his twitter:

https://twitter.com/TimFederle/status/831540537467469824

Hillary the Druid, living in the wilderness as she becomes One with Gaia and prepares to take the fight to the HALLS OF THE TRUMPEN KING. You cannot make this shit up. Scott Adams was 100% right when he called this “hallucinating.” There is no other word for it. Everything else falls far short of the level of total delusion and disconnect from reality required.

So yeah, before you go asking me about kool-aid, y’might wanna yank the hose out of your mouth.

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themahouproject · 8 years

Photo

The Location of Mahoutokoro

Let me apologize for the following rant in advance. I (still) simply cannot get onboard with the idea that out of every inch of land in Japan, Iwo Jima just happens to be the place they decided to build a school of magic.

This blog has been a work-in-progress for weeks now, but I thought this post in particular was a good place to start. Mahoutokoro has bothered me since the days when all we knew was its name (which I have now come to terms with, surprisingly). This is a purely AU headcanon blog because I wanted to have fun (i.e., torture myself) researching ways to make a less stereotypical Japanese wizarding world. I’ll probably still fail along the way, but oh well. Feel free to correct me if I’m totally off the mark.

I try to keep the complaints to a minimum in other posts, but I kind of went all out for this one. I had issues figuring out the layout, so it’s also a bit disorganized.

Taken out of the context of WWII, Iwo Jima is an incredibly random choice to build anything. A small village existed before the army commandeered it for the war, but it’s a tiny volcanic island off the coast of Tōkyō. It’s so painfully obvious that it was selected out of convenience.

It is true that the most of the Bonin Islands (of which Iwo Jima is part of) were largely uninhabited in the past. Perhaps it makes sense for a school in Great Britain or America to be located in a totally remote area, but hear me out.

Classical and medieval Japan had a different relationship with what we might today call “magic”. Onmyōdō, the amalgamation of astrology, divination, the principles of yin and yang as well as the Five Elements, and occultism was once endorsed by the Imperial court. Schools were established to study onmyōdō, and although they closed during the Muromachi period (1336–1573), onmyōdō was endorsed by various Emperors and a few shōgun until the mid 1800s, when it was finally prohibited as superstition.

Although many of the Tokugawa shōgun did not seek the advice of onmyōji, they didn’t outlaw it or perform witch hunts. Instead, they granted the Tsuchimikado family official jurisdiction over all onmyōji in the country. The aspects of Japanese culture that can be translated to “magic” in the HP verse get much more complicated than this, though, so I won’t cover it here.

The point is: would Japanese magic users really have had to hide to the same degree as the British and American witches and wizards? Especially at the time the school was founded? They would have had to conceal it and their activities later, when people stopped believing in the supernatural, but the answer is essentially no.

This finally brings me to my headcanon(s). I admit, it’s really difficult figuring out where to stick a school of magic in a country that you have never actually lived in for a significant length of time. I was tempted to stick Mahoutokoro in the remote forests of Hokkaidō, Niigata, or Kōchi several times, but those would have been just as lazy as picking Iwo Jima. The decisions I came to aren’t the only ones available, but eh, I only put in an hour or so of research. Maybe I’ll come back to this post with better options.

Lake Biwa

Oki Island (pictured left) is a small island located in Japan’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Biwa. Lake Biwa, one of the oldest lakes in the world, is located near the former capital of Japan, Kyōto, and may have been named for its shape which resembles the instrument favored by the goddess Benzaiten.

In modern times, it has been a trend to visit “power spots” across Japan. These locations are “believed to give visitors some special energy, a spiritual force that heals or refreshes.” In one view, this energy is derived from nature, which aligns with Shintō beliefs. Lake Biwa is one of those power spots.

Another island located on Lake Biwa is Chikubu Island, a place said to be capable of granting wishes. Oki Island has an interesting tale associated with it - it is said that seven defeated samurai of the Taira clan escaped to this island with their families during a war of succession in the mid 1100s. Most of the people living on this island today have one of the seven surnames belonging to the original samurai families. Furthermore, these residents, especially the older generation, try to preserve their traditions and culture, resisting modern development.

My headcanon is that Mahoutokoro is located on an island in Lake Biwa, much like the two aforementioned ones. It being close to Kyōto is important, as Kyōto was the Imperial capital where onmyōji reached the height of their influence during the Heian Period.

An extra tidbit is a popular tourist attraction: a torii gate built on the water. These vermillion and black colored structures are found at the the entrances to most Japanese shrines, and mark the boundary between the sacred world of the kami and the outside world full of impurities.

It’s my personal headcanon that some of these gates (though not all; some must be left for the kami, of course) were converted into entryways to the magical community, much like Platform 9 3/4.

In a beautiful video game rife with Japanese mythology, Ōkami, you play as a wolf that is the reincarnation of the sun goddess. When you, the wolf, runs under one of these torii placed in front of a tree, you actually run into a separate realm for the kami. If you go around the pillars, however, you can walk up to the tree and find two normal human girls standing there.

So, I headcanon that some torii work like this. You can only walk through if you have magic (?), or something like that.

Other Options

Here are a few alternate places to consider:

Itsukushima/Miyajima: (pictured right) To be more precise, an island like Miyajima. It probably wouldn’t be wise to stick your school on a sacred spot. Miyajima is an island off the coast of Hiroshima. Both the main shrine and torii gates are built on the water, but it also has temples (Buddhist in origin) on the island. It is also a “power spot” like Lake Biwa discussed above.

On a mountain. Not saying it should be Mt. Fuji, but there are plenty of choices throughout the country. Japanese castles built before the 16th century were often built into the mountain itself. Others were built at the base of one, and a few were built on plains or near the shore or on an island just off the coast. I’m sure other cultures around the world are similar in that mountains play an important role in culture, myth, and folklore. Actually, ~70% of Japan is mountainous, a lot of it difficult to inhabit with many uncrossable rivers.

As mentioned above, the Taira clan lost against the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War. The survivors of the clan dispersed and settled in some of the most isolated places across Japan. Many of these places are still remote - hidden in mountains, valleys, etc.

The only thing I liked about the canon information is the fact that it is surrounded by water.

Mostly because of the term ayakashi, really, which is used as a ubiquitous term for spirits/demons nowadays but previously referred only to the creatures that appeared at sea. I’m too tired to explain this, so here’s a quote:

“...ayakashi is a general term for yokai that appear above the surface of the water, and can be translated as “strange phenomenon of the sea.” That fact that this is the surface of the water is important—yokai tend to appear at boundaries, places where one thing becomes another thing. So ayakashi are yokai that haunt the boundary between the ocean and the air...” Hyakumonogatari

Strange things happen at sea, like lights that drift on the surface, looking like the bobbing of lanterns. It makes sense for something magical to occur there.

#Mahoutokoro #Geography & Landscape #Japanese Wizarding World #Headcanon #this turned into an essay #sorry #most of my posts will not be so angry

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jusadode-blog · 5 years

Text

ONE MONTH OF T (in 2 days but I set my T days for fridays to align with my pharmacy)! THE SHIT I’VE NOTICED SO FAR (nsfw warning):

Please note: I am a special case and very reactive to T. My results so far are not the usual, so don’t use this as a reference post for your own experiences but more of just things that can or will happen in your own eventually. Also, if you notice these major changes very quickly, talk with your doctor to keep an eye on your t-levels since taking the usual dosage could be life-threatening. I had to personally (entirely by my own choice to the suprise of my doctor) to delay my shift to full dosage for another month due to risks involved. If at any point you feel like T is hellish or giving you too many bad side effects, talk with your doctor and they can lower it or give you other treatments to cope with the things. This is also super fucking disorganized, so if you wanna take tidbits of this and use it in your own masterpost go fucking wild mates. Also this format is fucking ugly but <3

Okay, so first and foremost: They weren’t lying, Testosterone does raise your libido. HOWEVER: After the initial shot it’s been pretty chill for me afterwards, even as a very sexual person. If you’re sex repulsed, ,asexual, or just don’t like the feeling of being horny, you might want to talk to your doctor about options to possibly lower your libido again if the T triggers it after more than a month.

[NSFW] Testosterone made sex EASIER for me (personally). I used to be dry as a bone pre-T and just assumed I had some issues with vaginal stuff and would probably need to be put on estrogen cream like some other dudes and pals [also, most doctors will wait before giving you estrogen cream as that can actual cause more damage if unnecessary). The very first week I started T though? The rivers were flowing, the drought was over, and sex also became a lot easier for me (Albeit still hard since I have other issues going on). Also, suddenly I was experiencing “physical” horniness again (something I hadn’t had since middleschool) without the need of “psychological” horniness first. Like, usually I had to think of sexy stuff to get my gears going but suddenly just my body is throwing open the doors and windows now before I even know I’m even turned on mentally.

Your doctor might start you out on the half-recommended dosage for transitioning, this sounds SUPER scary to binary trans guys and enbies who want results fast, but honestly? Sometimes, your body reacts more. I literally have tripple the dick length and diameter I originally had in under a month (still under an inch), my chest is already more masculine shaped and drooping, as well as my voice is trying to figure out what the fuck is going on (I can feel it being funky). In one month. If I had started on the regular dosage, I might have actually died since I’m so receptive to testosterone.

*Something* might change in you. Literally the first week after getting my shot, I suddenly was over 80% happier, more relaxed, and almost all of my social anxiety was out the window. Rather than being afraid and skittish in public, I’m more of just uncomfortable now. Also, I went from a bottom-veering verse to a top-veering verse, as well as I’ve found it a lot easier to look at other guys and be attracted to them comfortably??? This is probably almost entirely psychology related rather than biology, but still worth mentioning. It’s not like I changed as a person btw, it’s more of it’s easier to be happier as well as it’s easier to be the person I’m supposed to be.

My chin hairs doubled but they’re not ready to breed yet :’(

My knees got hairy?? I have scar tissue over areas of my knees and so when I noticed the hair growth was now covering them I was very surprised.

[NSFW] Your cum is gonna change smell and appearance. Your piss is gonna change smell. The first while it might be a bit of a PH balance issue (don’t try to treat it without a doctors assistance since you’re in a special case), but it’s gonna change. My personal scent went from a “potatoey” natural scent to a vaguely public restroom smell in a month (which worries me greatly cause that means I’ve been to bathrooms people jerked it in). It’s gonna be a bit uncomfortable getting used to your new biological functions smell, especially if you already had issues with them, but it’s for the better.

T-Shots CAN BE PAINLESS. I’m still learning how to do injections since I didn’t actually have a nurse to help me (HAHAHAHAHA THANK GOD FOR YOUTUBE FOR FUCKING CHRISTS SAKES HAHAHAHAHA), but I’ve had 1.5 shots so far that have been pretty painless. My first two shots hurt a lot (first time I panicked and did a LOT wrong, second I still goofed a bit), but my third time was so ungodly painful during injection because I had pulled the fat too far back but upon releasing there was NO muscular pain, just injection pain. I’ve just had a completely pain-free shot using a pull technique with my shot, but PLEASE NOTE: Fat deposits is a major thing to consider in this. The more fat in the area, the more it hurts. I’ve moved slightly upwards towards the top of my leg while still following requirements for the shot to be safe, and I’ve found a sweet spot where my muscle has almost no fat there. The longer you’re on T, the more fat should move from your legs and to your stomach (with a reasonable amount left behind), but trans bears are in for a bit of hell unless they find their own thing.

Protip to keep your muscle relaxed: Lay back in your bed with a pillow propped under your ankle of the injection leg, make sure you’re breathing the entire time, and do a steady push with the 60-90 degree recommendation I see everywhere. Do it with the needle angled towards your knees (handle towards your head), and it should help hurt less.

You get a lil bit dumber. I’mma leave this vague, but like watch your impuslivity mates. Before engaging in risky behavior, always discuss with yourself pre-event to ensure you know what you’re willing to consent to, what you’re not, as well as always know if you can’t say yes to something with confidence then it’s a no. This is mostly written in regards to drunk and spontaneous sex (Always have a basic outline of what you consent to under most circumstances), but also like if you’re gonna go smoke weed with friends and someone brings out some harder stuff. Set this based upon your own personal ethics, beliefs, comfort, etc..

You get acne where you never had it before. WHY THE FUCK IS THERE A ZIT ON MY TRECHEA??? THE WORLD WILL NEVER KNOW.

If you have the Herpes virus ( both mouth and genital), it might break out more frequently and worse for a while due to hormone changes (this will balance out). Watching your diet and avoiding trigger foods, stress (hahahaha), and using proper treatment products at the first sign of an outbreak will help prevent them from happening or being too severe. Talk with your doctor about possible medication options during breakouts, as well as preventative ones.

Your skin is gonna be fucking whack for a while. Have you ever had dry, acne-encrusted skin? I HAVE. My face was so dry after my second shot of T yet still covered in so much acne it was the weirdest shit ever. I’ve changed around my skin routine a bit (I literally just use a acne medicine I used during my first puberty and a new skin lotion when I notice dryness).

Your appetite might change. Make sure when starting testosterone you eat reasonably healthy, and make some life choices to ensure you don’t develop heart disease. I’ve begun eating vegetables at least once a week (considering I’d go months without them and eat starches in their place, this is revolutionary), and I’m still trying to properly dedicate myself to a work out routine.

Belly? It’s gonna look a different kind of fat. Mine suddenly looks wider and generally more protruding, and for me I enjoy this since I don’t wanna be a twink. AFAB’s tend to store body fat in hips, theighs, and butts, while men tend to store it in their stomachs and around their organs (meant to be burned quickly during fight or flight, but just causes heart disease now.) A good site covering this pretty effectively is: https://www.erchonia.com/how-men-and-women-store-fat-differently/ , but please note this is a company that offers lazer surgeries related to fat removal so it’s probably at least somewhat biased.

YOUR NEEDLES AND YOUR TESTOSTERONE HAVE DIFFERENT RX CODES GIVE YOUR PHARMACY ALL OF THEM.

Laundry detergent bottles make great sharps containers (most needles come with lids, but please do this anyways since it is a biohazard).

Sometimes, your needles will be more expensive than your Testosterone. This is why WV has a fucking HIV crisis with heroine addicts right now :/

Also btw, shop pharmacies and use apps like WellRX for coupons, one pharmacy offered me T for 60$ but the other offered me it for like 120$. Check out pharmacies like in Walmart, Target, Costco, and others to see who has the cheapest available if you don’t have insurance or have to pay copays. [You can do this with all medications including Insulin]

If you’re nonvegan/vegetarian, just eat more chicken and less red meat, it’s got more protein and less grease, and will probably save your life in the long run.

Workout! You’re bodys gonna be fucking weird for a while, and finding a healthy way to let out your emotions is a great way to cope with the hormonal feelings you’ll get, as well as it’ll help keep your heart healthy and maybe even prep you for surgery. If you’re disabled, find out what works for you.

[NSFW[ I personally use a very weighted sex toy for lifting, and a modified NerdFitnesses’ 20 minute workout routine. https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Speaking of hormonal though, it’s gonna get real fucking ugly real fucking fast for a while. You’re gonna cry, scream, pout, panic, and then (assuming you are a sexual being) jerk off. It’s a mess for a hot while, mine started my second shot but it seems to be leveling out. Now I’m on my 3rd shot so I’ll find out when it’s too late if it’s any easier lol.

and finally:

Check out David Bowie’s “Changing”, they had it in Shrek but like apparently he did a version too and I’m hardcore kinning it right now.

#talk junk

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