#i feel like i'm improving a lot with these

[thelaurenshippen]

fellow writers, a question for you. what are we doing when our imagination starts outpacing our skill a lot. I know that taste is always running ahead of ability, but I feel like I spent 2022/2023 making massive improvements in my writing and for the past few months it feels like I'm a kid with crayons trying to paint the sistine chapel. I've been reading craft books and doing exercises and all that I just feel stuck!

[utilitycaster]

This is probably something that will be obvious to many but: writing about fictional works but not creating fanfiction/fanon to me tends to fall into four categories, and I think it's really important to get how they intersect before getting weird about other people's posts.

Opinion. Eg: I like relationships based in mutual understanding. This is my opinion. It is correct for me. Might not be correct for you! Note that this is pure opinion, with no argument.

Interpretation: Eg: Beau and Yasha's relationship shows a great deal of understanding in each other's shared experiences, including abusive parents; a shared tendency to believe, at least earlier on, that things will go badly and that they don't deserve better; and difficulty expressing their feelings verbally but letting out frustrations through fighting.

Fact/Evidence: Beau says she is unused to things turning out good, and Yasha believes herself to be, as she says, very unlucky or cursed. Her letter covers that she expresses herself through fighting.

Conclusion: I like Beauyasha.

Argument is Opinion + Interpretation; a valid argument is Opinion + Interpretation + Evidence. Meta can include opinion but ultimately is Interpretation and good meta is Interpretation + Evidence. It's fine to post just an opinion, but if you want to change minds, you need an argument, and if you want to be able to hold your own against a counterargument it better be valid.

You can have the same interpretation and facts and different opinions and therefore different conclusions. Someone else could say "I like messy relationships (opinion) and so Beau and Yasha's shared understanding (interpretation, same as mine) is not interesting to me (conclusion)." You can also have a different interpretation from the same facts, either because you are including a different set of facts on a topic or because there is ambiguity and room for different lenses.

If your goal is to change someone's mind - and to be honest mine usually isn't - you are unlikely to change their opinions. Eg, If someone says "I don't like Beauyasha because I prefer messier relationships" I'm not going to convince them on the grounds of "you shouldn't like messier relationships." I need to either put forward an interpretation that supports a messier relationship, or, more realistically, say "understandable, have a nice day" and move on with my life.

That last bit is important - a lot of people also argue on the basis of "well obviously this interpretation is the only one, so you should draw the same opinions from it." and that's likely to fail; either the person disagreeing with you overall does agree on the interpretation but has different opinions (as in the above example), or they have a different interpretation (eg: Beau and Yasha have attacked each other repeatedly) and that is the basis of their opinion (I don't like that). You need to figure out which is going on and address that should you wish to change their mind. And again, I think you should ask why you want to change their mind.

The last point is that all of the above is valid given the text and reflect different perspectives. But if someone were to say "I don't like Beauyasha because Beau turned into a porcupine and moved to France, and I don't like long-distance relationships" the invalid portion is that this literally did not happen (fact leading to interpretation). If someone can correctly dispute the facts of your interpretation (as they stand at the time, obviously; no one is penalized for not being precognitive) then you are fucked, argument-wise. If I point out that Beau did not turn into a porcupine nor move to France, this person's argument falls apart. They can still dislike the relationship, but if they want to justify it with an argument they better find a new interpretation, and fast.

Before I move into the end I will note that you can also just not vibe with something, and that's purely in the realm of opinion + conclusion, a la "this rubs me the wrong way" or "I find this annoying" or "it's cute" and all of those are valid to hold for yourself, and also inaccessible to anyone else

The conclusions I draw from all of the above are first, making posts that are only your opinion/conclusion is always fine - say what you want - but treating it as an argument is a waste of time, and so anything of the order of "how could you not like xyz (unspoken: because I did)" is pointless because my answer is going to be "easily, and with confidence." Secondly, I think it's valuable to look at posts, even those with arguments, as primarily interpretation rather than opinion. Putting forth a separate interpretation is a disagreement, but it's not a disagreement necessarily directed at you; it's disagreeing with you but the parallel play option is available! You do not need to go out trying to convert all to your same mindset. I think a healthy fandom ecosystem has multiple interpretations and opinions and respectful disagreement; the positive version of "let people like/dislike things" (ie, they can like it or dislike it and if you're normal, your enjoyment is not contingent on theirs). Thirdly, get your facts straight or suffer the consequences. And finally, if you are trying to make an argument for an ongoing work and do so over time, your opinion must be fairly consistent even as the interpretation naturally evolves otherwise it becomes clear that you are arguing in favor of a foregone conclusion (often via moving the goalposts). If you say "I like characters who are willing to make painful and difficult choices, and Blorbo always takes the easy way out, so I don't like them" and Blorbo develops into a character who is able to make painful and difficult choices, if you start critiquing Blorbo now on the basis those choices that's still fair but you better come very correct, and it might be wiser to just say "I don't fuck with Blorbo, if you do that's great but I don't."

[serialunaliver]

@waterberry-strawmelon personally I don't think there is a neutral way to use narcissistic as it's a derogatory term, and I also don't identify it as a mental illness but rather a maladaptive coping strategy. to me it's just a cluster of traits I wish I didn't have and I usually just say "narcissistic traits".

as for narcissistic abuse, the term doesn't particularly make sense to me because abuse normally has more than one motive, and what people often mistake as an overall narcissistic personality is straight up misogyny. my abuser would 100% come across as a narcissist until you learn his behavior is exclusively directed at women. unfortunately a lot of women victimized by misogyny have latched onto the whole narcissism thing and identify misogynists as narcissistic personalities which is unhelpful to addressing the real issue. also a lot of people assigning the 'narcissist' label to someone straight up just don't know how narcissism works. it does not make you an unfeeling supervillain, it's actually extremely easy for a narcissist to feel hurt, which is why it's more of a weakness. narcissism is also not inherently sadistic and a narcissist punishing you is most likely feeling threatened by you in some way rather than doing it for entertainment (this doesn't mean you're actually doing something wrong, it just comes across that way to the narcissist as you've somehow triggered an insecurity). overall the pop psych portrayal of narcissism in abuse is harmful to actual victims because it creates an image that doesn't exist in reality and can lead to more fear and hopelessness, because this false idea of a narcissist is significantly scarier than the reality. it also implies that people with narcissistic behavior are incapable of change which discourages any sort of self improvement. no matter what any psychologist tells you, a narcissistic personality is NOT incurable, the behavior and mindset can be identified and improved over time with effort. the reason this may happen "rarely" is narcissism is defensive so suggestions of irrationality feel like threats. also no one wants to be called a narcissist in the first place for obvious reasons, you don't seek help hoping to be told "you're a self centered asshole actually", which is why imo it would be easier to 'treat' if the term narcissist weren't even used in the first place. what would've helped me is being told the source of the issue and having the behavior separated from me as a person, not something as a default state of being. it hurts to know there are people in my family and therapists/doctors who think i'm uniquely more likely to cause harm...

ok i'm not sure at this point if I even answered your question or just started rambling lol but this is the best I could do I guess.

[myflagmeansace]

Hi all! It's taking a lot longer to caption Samba's BTS improv video, but here's the video without captions and a separate transcript with dialogue tags for now! 😘

Scene 1

Ed is determined to banter about Jeff's Inn by the Sea after gravy basket Hornigold ruined it.

Ed (proudly announcing what he does at the inn): My specialty is seafood. Um and I cook the sea...food.

Stede (completely and earnestly smitten): You cook it perfectly, by the way.

Ed (sweetly accepting his compliment): Thank you! 😊

Stede (so appreciative of his love's fictional cooking skills): I love that.

Ed (remembering how well Stede pours drinks *possibly inspired by the Ed draped across a bar fanart Taika called out in the IMDB The Outfronts interview*): Um and you are the cocktail man.

Stede (so excited about his role): I am the cocktail man!

Ed: Yeah!

Stede (really playing into his role): I make a drink or two.

Ed (a little dazed at imagining Stede as a cocktail man pouring him several drinks): Yep oh yeah! Um and more than two sometimes.

Stede (feeling a little cheeky): Sometimes we get on it, don't we? Yeah!

Ed (picking up on what Stede is putting down but also fuck off Hornigold, Ed is totally a people person at this fictional inn!): Yeah, yeah! You know, we get on it. You work the back of house, I work the front of house.

Stede: Yes!

Ed: Yep.

Stede (recognizing the importance of taking turns, in more than one way 😉): Sometimes I work the front of house.

Ed (agreeing to being a versatile partner): Yeah and then I-you give me a turn working the back.

Stede: Yes.

Ed: Yeah.

Stede (shameless at this point): You like that, don't you?

Ed (a little flustered but keeping his cool): Aw, I mean, I-you know, it's just nice for a change now and then, you know?

Stede (liking the thought of keeping Ed satisfied): Something different. Yeah!

Ed (admitting to himself why he likes working the back): Yeah! It's just nice to be in control.

*Stede proudly gazing at Ed*

Scene 2

Taika: *breaks, closing his eyes and smiling*

Rhys: *wheezing/laughing*

Scene 3

Stede (leaning into his role of cocktail man, expert of drinks): Well imagine us as...a mixed drink.

Ed (absolutely smitten, ready to listen and pressing his finger against his lips to calm the urge to press his lips all over the dork in front of him): I am imagining it!

Stede (really struggling to capture the expertise of a cocktail man because he's more of a gardening guy so he can't think of a drink good enough to compare Ed to so he goes with whatever sounds cool and tough): You're the hard...sort of...

Ed (smile falls and starts feeling sad because Stede is calling him hard when he's really just a soft kitty princess but he'll go along with it because he gets it 😿 he copies his hand gestures to appear agreeable): I'm the hard one.

Stede (sweating bullets):...rustic...

Ed (definitely not liking the word rustic and tucking in his paws, I mean hands): Yeah.

Stede (knowing he’s completely boned it as a cocktail man): Ummm...

Ed (trying to save the moment and compares himself to a rare whiskey): The bitter one like a whiskey.

Stede (agreeing out of desperate relief): Bitter whiskey at the bottom. Yes!

Ed (remembering he doesn't actually like whiskey but he does like rum): Yeeah. Like yes, yeah. I'm like the whiskey or the rum.

Stede (changing the focus to distract Ed from his clumsy cocktail man moment): And I'm the fluffy kind of ✨️epervescent✨️…

(new word alert lol I think he meant effervescent)

Ed (entertained by the word choice): Ohhhh!

Stede (playing it up with jazz hands):...tang!

Ed (doesn't dare correct his excited boyfriend): Epervescent!

Stede: Yes!

Ed (gestures at his bubbly boyfriend): Yeah! You're the bubbly one!

Stede (wiggling in excitement): That just jumps in on top!

Ed: The Tang!

Stede: Yeah!

Ed (trying out a pickup line): Yeah you're the tang to my tong.

Stede (has no idea what a tong is but he loves rhyming): Ahhh! You're the zangy, I'm the tangy!

Ed (absolutely enamored and giggling with joy at Stede's flirting): Aw The Zangy and the Tangy! We should call the joint that! The Seaside and…

Stede (high pitched mating call): Tangy and Zangy!

Ed (falls apart laughing, holding on to Stede): ...Tangy Zang-!

Scene 4

Ed (giving Stede a boyfriend test): We're very different you see. We're cut from different cloths us two. Um but somehow when you stitch that cloth together...

Stede (appreciating Ed's deep thoughts): Mmm.

Ed: What does it make?

Stede (passing the test with flying colors): Well, a beautiful seam! ❤️

Ed: 💘😳🥰🫠

Scene 5

Ed (taking the opportunity to analyze and get near the Stiddies): We're leather and silk.

Stede (oblivious, trying to romantically serenade Ed): Leather and silk!

Ed: It's uh...*begins nervously singing too* and all things milk!

Stede (heartfelt but slightly confused crooning): ...together!

Ed (trying his best to rhyme): ...and from different ilks.

Ed (starts over, pulling it together as he goes): Leather and silk, from different ilks...

Stede (too stubborn to be apart from Ed even in song):...together we....

*Stede waits, anticipating a masterpiece finish*

Ed (hyperfocusing on dairy and possibly Stiddies at this point): ...from the udder...of life...we make milk!

*Stede remains utterly still as his brain catches up with Ed's*

*Ed finishes, baffled by his own song but he stands by those words because life really is like a cow's udder, and leather and silk are of different ilks, and in a strange and cosmic way, they do indeed make milk 🙂‍↕️🫶🏽*

[mewsmagic]

IT'S MY DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAYYYYY happy birthday colleiiii!!!!

I really want to spice this piece up, perhaps with some shading next time? If I have time I may as well just redo it just to see how I've improved, we'll see how it goes next year!!

The idea behind this piece is that Collei has a complicated relationship with gendered clothes and usually prefers oversized, comfy clothing as to not stand out, like some of us trauma survivors tend to feel.

But in this particular instance of the art, she's trying "feminine" clothing (after years of working on her feelings towards herself, her trauma and her body) and she finally feels confident with it. It's not the end of her journey by any means, but it's a nice improvement.

This piece is very important to me, because this headcanon comes a 100% from my own experience and I relate a lot to it, especially as a gnc person, I hope hearing about it gives you the same comfort it gives me <3

Here goes some close-ups just because:

Did you notice it is glazed?? I know right??? I glazed it with Glaze 2.0 and it's so unnoticeable I'm beyond shocked by the sheer quality of it, it's a pity it still takes a long time on my pc criessss

[himbeereule]

Орлёнок Demo Release

Finally, the demo is here! It's not exactly January anymore, but better late than never, right?

You can play it right here!

I also made a post on the CoG forums, if you want to check it out: Link

Features include:

Meeting your family! And getting bullied.

Getting executed!

Rising from the dead!

Celebrating life by slaughtering some rebels!

(Being extremely miserable!)

Feedback:

This is, quite obviously, a work in progress. It is made available so that you, the reader, can give feedback that improves the game.

So, while you can - and should - obviously tell me whatever you want, a specific list of what I need most in terms of feedback can be found here:

Language. English is not my first language (actually, not even my second one), and I mostly read non-fiction academic works when I read in English, so my writing is certainly not at the level it should be. If you have any concrete issues, please tell me, and I'll try to learn how it can be improved.

Spelling. I don't expect much in the way of outright errors, but I do know that I mix up British and American English all the time. The intended style is American English, so please point out spellings that are wrong in that regard.

Inconsistencies. There are a lot of variations between scenes, and I'd like to make the story as immersive as possible; so, if a phrasing, a character's behaviour etc. feel like they don't fit into the choices you previously made, please tell me. In detail, if possible, otherwise I won't be able to amend it.

Sensory descriptions. AuDHD makes my brain process sensations, including visual impressions, very differently, which means I often end up forgetting those exist. Please tell me about scenes that lack description in that regard. (My first grade elementary school report card called my writing 'efficient and devoid of feelings', and I'd very much like to move past that.)

Technical problems. The code should be pretty solid, but with how complicated it is, it'd be weird if there weren't at least some problems. If you find them, please try to include as much detail as possible when telling me about it. (CS Quicktest and Randomtest are not usable due to the complexity of the code, lol.)

You liking the story. I remain thoroughly convinced that I am a worthless person who isn't able to, nor deserves to create anything, and currently my only motivation to continue this project is derived from pure stubbornness. So, if you, for some reason, actually like this demo, please tell me. It won't change my mind about how bad I think it is, but it will force me to continue in order to avoid being even more of a disappointment.

Additions. If I like your idea, I'll probably add it right away; if I'm unsure, I'll do a poll. You can get me to do almost anything if you say you're sad if I don't do it.

Formatting. Although I try to playtest as much as possible, it's not that easy with how many variations there are, and in VS Code it's sometimes hard to see how well or badly readable text passages actually are.

CWs/TWs (v0.0.1):

Graphic violence and gore

Attempted sexual assault (against the player, avoidable, f!MC only; also against an NPC if massacre route is chosen (is dealt with quickly))

Suicide attempt (by the player, avoidable; f!MC only)

Loss of loved ones

Massacre of civilians and/or PoWs (avoidable)

General misery

(please let me know if you think this needs additions)

As of yet unfinished content:

Autistic variations do not exist yet for the latter part of the demo

Only one of three locations for taking a walk available for now

Tooltips are incomplete

Asexual is not available yet, as it requires a lot of additional scene variation text

Special (psychopath) routes are missing from some scenes as they were added late in development

Choices that are locked and marked as (WIP) are unfinished

Interaction routes for Semyon/Selena, Mikhail/Marina and Leon/Leah. They are top priority for the first set of updates

It is recommended that you play this with a stable state of mind. If you choose the suffering paths because it's relatable and/or as a coping strategy, please make sure you have support available and avoid triggering yourself too much.

The whole point of this game (apart from the dress-up part) is that, no matter how bad things get, you shouldn't stop fighting. It's your enemies who deserve destruction, not you.

Please keep in mind that I am both literally insane and pretty reasonable, so: if there is anything you find grossly offensive, don't assume I meant anything bad by it. Just explain to me why you think it shouldn't exist, and if I am convinced, I will amend it.

[khaire-traveler]

This is so stupid and you probably can't but can you help me find the deity that fits me? I stopped worshipping three bc I just didn't have a bond with them

Hey, Nonny!

I'm certain I've answered a very similar question recently, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the post. 💀 I'm just going to restate the information I remember giving, since I can't link it. I obviously can't know which deity you'll feel a connection to, but I'll give the best advice I can think of to hopefully offer you a place to start.

The first thing I'd do is make a list of things that genuinely interest you. I'm talking about hobbies, passions, inspirations, interests, topics you study - that kind of thing. After that, make a list of things you feel you need help with or would like to personally work on. Habits you'd like to stop, flaws you'd like to improve on, traits you want to strengthen, goals you want to achieve, current struggles that you're facing - that sort of thing. You can be as detailed or simple as you want; these lists don't have to be super long or fancy.

The next thing I'd do is look into the deities within the pantheon I'm interested in. Search terms like "Greek god of medicine", for example, and you're likely to find at least one result. I would try to keep your search terms broad, however; I wouldn't search up extremely niche topics. If you can't find anything under those search terms, look up a general list of the deities within that pantheon and go through them. Look at any names that seem to stick out to you more than the others. This part of the process would likely take the most time and effort.

After that, I'd make a list of the deities that interest me. Try to look at deities who are involved with the topics you enjoy or could potentially help you with whatever you want to work on. For example, let's say you enjoy writing. You may want to try reaching out to Lord Hermes, who has a domain within language and communication. You could also reach out to one of the Muses, who often aid with creative endeavors. Try finding deities that are related to the topics that you made lists for, and see what you've got.

When the list of deities is made, I'd start reaching out! Reach out to the deities who call to you the most to start. Which names stand out to you? Which deities are the most involved with your interests? Look for deities you think you'd get along well with.

I will say that it's important to remember that bonds take time to form. You're not likely to find a deity you just immediately click with; it tends to take time to form a deep and strong connection. Sometimes we do find a deity who we feel a more immediate bond with or feel called to worship, but that's not always the case, and that's entirely normal. Just like any human relationship, deity relationships develop over time with lots of care, communication, and time spent together.

The last thing I want to mention is that you're also welcome to worship deities just because you think they're cool. You don't need any other reason than that to simply reach out and say hello. Every deity I've met seems to enjoy having a worshipper who truly appreciates them. c:

I hope this is helpful and can offer you some guidance on where you can try to start! At the end of the day, this is just a suggestion, and you absolutely don't have to do things this way if you don't find it helpful. Regardless, I wish you the best of luck on this new journey. Take care, and I'm sure you'll find a deity you feel a connection to soon. Have a good day/night. 🧡

[skyloftsword]

Tears of the Kingdom Retrospective: A Completely (and Maliciously) Misunderstood and Misinterpreted Game

Happy first anniversary to Tears of the Kingdom! The first (and hopefully only) game I've gone to a midnight launch event for and WOW did people not like this game. It's gotten to the point where people believe lies spouted by Youtubers' mouths. You can dislike a game without being a liar. It should also be possible to dislike the game while respecting those who love it. But nope, that's expecting too much from Zelda fans I guess, since they've been doing this for over 20 years at this point and somehow haven't thought to improve as human beings. Is the game perfect? NO. Nothing is perfect, you all need to accept that. Anyways, I'm going to be going over this game down below, spoiler warning of course.

Gameplay wise, Tears of the Kingdom takes place on the same WORLD as Breath of the Wild, because its a direct sequel. A lot of changes were made to make the world feel fresher. New caves, whirlpools, quicksand, wells, etc. Not to mention the addition of the Sky Islands and the Depths. The Sky Islands may not differ visually from one another most of the time, however, they all offer unique elements to make them differ gameplay wise. There are also unique islands like the Thunderhead/Dragonhead Isles and Lightcast Island. The Depths are an inverse of the main land of Hyrule and wherever there's water on the Surface, there are walls instead. The Depths is mostly just filled with bosses, rematches with the dungeon bosses, enemy camps and chests filled with clothing of LEGENDS (like Skyward Sword, OoT, TP and WW). It is also home to two of the game's dungeons, the Fire Temple and Spirit Temple. The dungeons in this game are handled differently than traditional dungeons AND BotW dungeons slightly. Just like with BotW, you enable 4-5 terminals (except for with Spirit Temple, where you nab pieces of Mineru's Construct) and then fight a boss. Unlike Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom actually provides unique boss fights that aren't cookie cutter design wise and music wise (the dungeons are also unique visually this time thankfully). They're fairly easy (outside of Queen Gibdo and Seized Construct) but they provide a spectacle at the very least. Now, with the hand abilities. Fuse is fun to play around with but there isn't really too much to play around with if you aren't creative. Ultrahand is incredible and its astonishing how polished it is, especially after seeing the GDC beta footage where things were Skyrim levels of buggy. Recall is extremely fun to use not just in combat, but also to get up to the Sky Islands and view sunsets. Ascend ruined games for me, its extremely useful for exiting places like caves. Autobuild is great for storing builds you have made, but only 8 slots for favorites is a bit too low. The camera works just like it does in Breath of the Wild, which is totally fine, but now you can get pictures from your in game album and screenshot them without UI getting in the way. Shrines and Koroks in this game actually feel like a test of your skills with utilizing the runes, which is a vast improvement over BotW's. Not to mention the Proving Grounds feel more like Tests of Strengths than BotW's ever did. Also, you can ride dragons now, absolutely incredible improvement.

Now onto the most controversial (and very misunderstood) aspect of this game, the story. The story begins underneath Hyrule Castle where Link and Zelda investigate the source of the Gloom that started to appear all over Hyrule after the Calamity was defeated. They then find murals depicting the events leading up to the Imprisoning War, the aftermath of it being covered by rubble. This puts the Imprisoning War era into Zelda's mind as she geeks out. Once they reach the bottom, they encounter Ganondorf, the Demon King and source of the Calamity and Gloom. Ganondorf takes off Link's arm and destroys the platform, sending Zelda down and the stone takes her back to the era of Founding. Link is grabbed by Rauru's arm and dragged up to the Great Sky Islands, where he slumbers for like a month or so. Once waking up, Link explores the island and meets Rauru. After he clears all the Shrines, he says farewell to Rauru and heads off to the platform and sends the Master Sword back in time to Zelda. He heads to Lookout Landing and meets up with Purah, then goes to Hyrule Castle to see Hoz. They spot "Zelda" and Link heads back, wanting to believe that she really is still in the modern day, to tell Purah. He then goes to save the four regions of Hyrule from mysterious phenomena that were caused by the Upheaval while also searching for "Zelda". Unlike BotW though, this quest felt urgent because the world was actively being impacted by the events going on. He then goes to Hyrule Castle because he hears "her" voice and goes on a wild goose chase until he reaches the Sanctum. There it is revealed that this "Zelda" was actually just a Phantom Ganon in disguise. Link almost gets nuked by Gloom but is saved by the four Sages. He then goes to investigate the Geoglyphs that appeared all over the Kingdom, discovers the truth behind Zelda's disappearance and then goes to Akkala's spiral Rist Peninsula to find out that she is the Light Dragon. After he gets over it, Link goes towards Kakariko to discover the truth behind the Ring Ruins. After that he, alongside Tauro and Dr. Calip, go to the Zonai Ruins and makes the Thunderhead Isles actually possible to navigate through. Once he reaches the Dragonhead Island, he gets through a 10-heart door and hears a mysterious voice. Link follows this voice to the Construct Factory, where he learns that it belongs to Mineru, the Sage of Spirit. Link gathers the four Construct pieces for her and then they set off to the Spirit Temple. They face off against a Construct that was possessed by Gloom and then they meet for real this time. Mineru tells Link about the Imprisoning War in greater detail and then tells him about how Zelda was willing to become a dragon no matter what to bring the sword safely to him. He then goes to the Deku Tree, gets the Master Sword, fights Ganondorf and wins. Zelda is returned back to normal thanks to Rauru and Sonia amplifying light and time powers through Link.

The soundtrack for this game really helps make this game's story hit so much harder. The leitmotifs from BotW returning really helps solidify the connection between the two games. The Sage themes are absolutely incredible. The boss themes are incredible and aren't just the same thing four times in a row this time thankfully. The cutscene themes are memorable. The ambient music is absolutely beautiful and makes for really good relaxing music.

All in all, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute masterpiece that is misunderstood way too much and Youtubers/influencers really aren't helping at all. If you dislike the game, fine, whatever, just don't be toxic like 99% of the hatebase is. Thank you all for reading.

[scribbleboxfox]

I feel like I've been a bit harsh towards RvB these past few days. Admittedly, emotions have been running high with the show ending and all that.

I do love the show, and I'm glad we got something of a definitive end. I think if it had happened sooner, it would've made me (and maybe you, too, reader) a lot happier.

Restoration did have its highlights. The voice acting was fun; Caboose's new VA sounded awesome, and honestly Caboose really carried the season for me. It was nice to see some of the newer characters (Dylan Andrews and Agent One) again. It was REALLY nice to see Tex again. I loved the 479er cameo, too.

Now that it's all over, I'm stuck reflecting on the show as a whole and what it meant (and still means) to me. When I first started watching Red vs. Blue, I was pretty depressed. But then Season 13 happened, and suddenly I was writing again, after going through a period where I was certain I'd never tell another story. Not only that, but I was drawing not just for school and work, but for fun! There was a period of time in my life where the only thing I was drawing was RvB-themed art; be it either general fanart or art for my fic. That's changed now, obviously. I've branched out a lot, but I doubt my skills would have improved as much as they did, as rapidly as they did, if I hadn't fallen in love with this show. I also made so, so many friends because of RvB. One of them, I even live with now!

It's funny — sitting back and looking at the big picture, now — how much of my life was shaped by this one show. Where would I be without it? I'm not sure I want to think about it.

Anyways, this is all just a long-winded way of saying "thank you, Red vs. Blue." It wasn't always a perfect show, but I think it's imperfections are a large part of why it has such a creative fandom. And I'm glad I got to be a part of it.

Bow-chicka-bye-now, you funky little space marines. Thanks for everything. <3

[itsnothingofinterest]

Hey 👋 been a while, hope you're doing well?

Regarding the recent bnha chapter, and the ones before it, does it feel like the way things are going that everyone is kind of missing the "point"?

Because yeah, it's great for Deku to finally be seen as a "rising" hero that also inspires everyone, with them all fighting together and the civilians cheering them on.

But is all of that really so different from when All-might fought AFO at kamino? With the heroes helping All-might win and everyone else cheering him on?

It feels like everything has gone in one giant circle up to this point...

It doesn't seem like anyone (except for ochako, shoto and maybe Deku depending on what he does with shigaraki now) has really changed or learned anything.

(Aizawa is in a weird place because kurogiri is doing all work for him by glitching out and helping the heroes now, so aizawa can see that shirakumo is still in there, so he just acknowledges that.)

Because It's true that the civilians did try to "help" the heroes in a recent chapter but looking past the symbolism, all they actually did was give Deku a shirt and the other heroes some bandages or something, it wasn't very moving in my opinion.

And the hero side may take a more nuanced kind of view, with how they deal with aoyama and lesser villains like gentle and la brava, but that doesn't really help anything either.

Because aoyama was practically a hostage and gentle/la brava were the least "villainous" villains ever.

Can I ask what you think about all this?

Hey good to see you too, and yeah I 100% get what you mean. I don't want to act like I didn't like the chapter for the spectacle, but it is lacking something; and I think it's the sense of progress and improvement you're talking about. Because the chapter feels like it wants to have that, but i just don't feel it does.

And so, though I find the chapter rather fun & inoffensive on the whole, I'm still gonna throw some of what I will politely call constructive criticism at it and the last few before it for a bit if you're giving me the chance to.

These past few chapters have just been tossing all else to the side to get all gung ho about Deku and his hero allies becoming the greatest heroes, the heroes they were always meant to be (the kind of black & white story you'd expect AFO to usher in)...and I'm just not feeling it. I mean the team-up montage trivializing all of AFO's moves was cool but I got all style, no substance from it. Just typical hero stuff, comparable as you said to All Might with the other pros at Kamino.

It's like, I've been feeling this real want from both the readers and these latest chapters to say that Deku is surpassing All Might, and this is the moment where it's happening. 422 even talks about Deku's having a 'weakness' All Might lacked let him get up again and inspire others to get up again. But I've said before; Deku hasn't done anything All Might wouldn't in the same circumstance, and I think people who believe otherwise tend to assume AM was a lot less kind & a lot more independent, and Deku a lot less independent, than they are. Plus, All Might was the king of inspiring other heroes and he had to be literally paralyzed to stop fighting so what's that even about?

(Thinking about it; the problem might be that the manga wants to say Deku is more inspiring than AM; but the group we see him inspire to action most by far is fellow heroes, the same group All Might too most inspired to action.)

So yeah, it feels on the whole like we've just come full circle with our wheels spinning where I was hoping we'd move forward by now. And maybe there are a few exceptions where you could see some change, but even for them I question how much.

For one thing: I’m honestly not sure how much of Deku and Shoto’s more nuanced behaviour to their villain foils is from them being better heroes and what’s from Touya and Tenko being exceptions to them. Like, how will Shoto treat the next Dabi he meets if they aren’t his sibling? How will Deku treat a Tomura Shigaraki type that he can’t psychically see the inner child of? Ochako's the only one going against the grain just for the sake of a villain, and even then, it's not like we can expect repeat results. Fun as it sounds, she probably can't date every abused girl she meets and send off to jail.

Not to mention these past few chapters haven't even had any talk of villain saving anyway; no one has come here to save Tomura. I mean, Deku might (though sadly even his intentions must now be qualified with a 'might') but everyone else is here to save their fellow hero and beat the big bad; same as ever.

The civs haven't done anything too noteworthy or out of expectations we would've had for them in the early arcs either: just provide small help ranging from medical aid to one guy's shirt, and then sit back like a cheer squad for the next symbol/pillar while the heroes rush forward to do all the work, inspired by that same symbol/pillar. Maybe that's more than they would've done without the events of ch. 323~325...but that thought is mostly just depressing.

Even the cases of Gentle, La Brava, and Nagant don’t seem like these signs of progress to me; because I’ve said it before, but police asking criminals to catch worse criminals is normal. This has been standard procedure throughout. And Aoyama shouldn't even count and I'm almost angry that the story thinks he does.

Something that kind of caps off all this is how All Might talks about how Deku is his greatest hero; that line Deku was always eventually meant to embody (and apparently always did to AM). And cool as that is to confirm he's met all of All Might's expectations, it also feels like it's saying he's ended his arc; at this point where, if you ask me, he's only gone so far as to match All Might at best in every department besides raw power. Which is fantastic as far as Deku's personal goals go, that's all he's ever wanted; but when it feels like the world of HeroAca needed a guy who could exceed All Might, would could lead the charge for a generation of heroes to exceed their predecessors, it’s a shame that’s a level they’re all content just to meet. And that small shame sours something that should be really cool.

[charmedreincarnation]

Heyy, I'm new on tumblr, even though I've been reading void blogs and success stories from chrome over the past few months but this is my first time actually getting tumblr. I've asked this to other bloggers but nobody seemed to reply, maybe they're on break but I don't really know since I'm new here. So I tried the secret subject sleep trigger and after it was over I woke up (as the person in the hypnosis directed me to) and laid on my bed absolutely motionless for about 15 minutes, my legs got sore since they were suspended from from the bed (the bed is a bit small) so I folded my legs while keeping my position same, then I remembered that I saw in a video about astral projection that you can visualize you have a rope hanging above you and feel that you're holding onto that rope and pulling yourself, so I did and it felt like I was actually pulling myself up and finally it felt like my legs were pulled up and once it happened, the thing I experienced after this was mind blowing, I WAS BLOWN. My earphones were still attached but there was no audio playing (since the sleep trigger hypnosis had already ended and my internet wasn't on) but I heard music for a very short while and after that I heard the audio which I previously heard in the mind awake body asleep binarual beats audio by phase evolution and some high pitched sounds occasionally, even tho anything wasn't playing. It felt like I was aggressively being pulled up and thrown down and my skin was being stretched vigorously and it also felt like my body was being tensed up and then back to normal and while this was happening I affirmed for the void, affirmations like 'I am in the void state rn' 'I always wake up in the void' 'Why do I always wake up in the void' such and such. After a while of this everything started to calm down so I thought I was in the void but as things started to calm down I could again slowly hear the background noises (like my mother talking and trees rustling) and again I was feeling how I felt when I laid motionless previously and then eventually my mother woke me up (even though I wasn't really asleep this whole time). I'm writing this long asf paragraph to ask you what actually happened when I experienced that because I am absolutely clueless, where I went wrong because I eventually couldn't enter the void and how I can improve or what I can do to succeed the next time (I'll be trying again tonight).

(I've asked this to quite a few bloggers but got no reply and I don't know if they're on break or if my question got sent)

Love youu and have a great day ahead 💕

There is a whole range of sleep states that negate out-of-body experiences and beyond, from MABA to the void and experiences in between like SATs, hypnagogia, sleep paralysis, the trance state, and etc. I can't tell you what was happening because I'm not you, and even if it was happening to me, I can't tell if I would know what was happening even if it was happening to me.

For everyone, it's very much a learning experience; there are still things that happen to me where I need to do research because it's very new! My mindset is just to affirm and hope for the best because even if it's not something you're aware of, it doesn't mean it can't help or you failed.

Just assume every new experience is an opportunity opening and just take it even if you don’t know what it is because there are things that happened to me in 2020 that I now realize, "Oh, I almost shifted. Oh, that was the void state. Oh, I was astral projecting," now in 2024. There’s a lot of potential in the the unknown and in the realm of OBEs it will benefit you to just assume the best and affirm lol I promise it will take you far

[seagiri]

HIIIII ( ͡❛ ₃ ͡❛) I just wanted to say I LOVE your art and your art style, honestly it's a huge inspiration for me as an artist and I'm so glad to have found you and your work! I wanted to ask you how did you learn your anatomy and how you draw clothing? Like possibly any tips you have or anything. Your lines in a lot of your work are so flawless they just mold together like clay to create a masterpiece at the end 😭

Hiiii!! I'm not an expert so please don't take my word for granted LOL

I got taught anatomy on college ( ´ ω ` ) I had to do insane amounts of bone and muscle studies for months (individually and full body) + simplification of dynamic poses into shapes/mannequins. It also helped me a lot to look at myself in the mirror and look up references for how the muscles, tendons (etc idk) move when you flex and stretch and allat

And for clothing tbh i never know what im doing bahaha, I feel like I need to improve a LOT in that area. But what I was taught was to focus on where the weight of the clothing is located. It's good to have in minds at which points the clothing creases (armpits, knees, how the chest folds depending on the textures). Also to do a lot of studies and once again simplify into shapes.

My most important advice is not to memorize just how it looks but how it works!!!! to look at your drawing like a person, it has volume and shape and its tridimensional!!! how does it move? how does it look from different angles?? I'm not an expert and I like to just wing it most of the time but it really helped my art. have a wonderful day!!!

[ne-0-to]

I forgot to post this but heres the page I drew for @/BerserkZines ☺️🫶

I feel like I still need to improve on a lot of stuff but I'm proud of how it turned out regardless 🙇‍♀️

(The hands belong to Guts btw) 🙈

[liesmyth]

Are proprioception drills real, and if so do you do them? What do you recommend on this, oh wise jock advisor? Love from the anon who you inspired to run a 10k. (Also, how do you run when it’s hot out. Will I need to become a morning person.)

“inspired to run a 10k” omg omg that's AMAZING!! go you. the first time I ran 10k in one go I felt like a superhero. I hope you feel amazing about it because you ARE amazing <333

proprioception: regrettably. proprioception drills WORK. they're good for improving overall athletic performance and injury prevention! stable ankles do so much for you! terrible news for me personally because I suck at anything involving balance, I hate looking stupid, and I strongly dislike doing the kind of "exercise" where you don't actually sweat and don't feel good right away. needless to say, proprioception is my enemy.

stuff that ""athletic people"" ""should"" be able to do, and you could start working on if you find it challenging: (it's me. I find it challenging). brush your teeth standing on one leg. stand on one leg with your eyes closed. one-legged bodyweight calf raises (one ankle doesn't touch the floor, the other foot is doing the raises; if you need balance hold with one finger to the wall or counter). You can do this stuff at any point during the day, and doing it ""helps build a habit"" (said between gritted teeth)

stuff that you can do at the gym, as part of a workout, or while stretching: some yoga balance poses (Tree Pose, Eagle Pose, Warrior 3, Half-Moon Pose). If you have access to one of those balance disks soft cushion things, try standing on it, or doing bodyweight squats on it etc. this is a very useful video I like with some balance drills (near the end, the first half is mobility) and I do those. very rarely. at the gym, while looking very ridiculous

there are cool more advanced drills for runners — leg bounds, backwards skips, but personally I'm hopeless at it and if you're a relative novice you're probably bad at it too. If you discover an incredible talent for ankle stability exercises and want to progress further, youtube has a lot of cool form videos about it (thank you college track coaches with small youtube channels!) and I also recommend r/running and r/sprinting.

summer runs: unfortunately, the only thing to do when it's hot out is to. start your run very early. I'm sorry, believe me, I understand your pain. I had a couple amazing years when I woke up before five AM consistently to run in the summer and the sight of the sky at dawn was breathtaking etc. I wish I could recapture that level of motivation because I currently don't have any, but unfortunately, you either become a morning person or you Suffer (on the bright side if you can train yourself to run during the day during summer, you WILL be faster in the autumn. but at what cost?)

another alternative is to go running at night BUT often it takes a lot for temperatures to go down, so you might end up starting a run at, like, 9:30 pm, and that gets very annoying after a while. I PROMISE that when you wake up early consistently (including on weekends!) it stops being hard. It takes a few weeks, but it stops being hard. But if you lose the habit you will have to suffer all over again trying to build it back <- me right now

[bonncy]

more sketchbook pages, a bit inspired by Aqua Regia

[retellingthehobbit]

I’m making a webcomic adaptation of The Hobbit! It’s an epic cool passion project that incorporates as much of Tolkien’s prose as possible while also being my own take on the story, it features a variety of different art styles to represent the worlds of different characters in Middle Earth, it’s over 100 pages long already, the art/writing keeps gradually improving over time, and you should follow it! Like, comment, and subscribe! *dabs*

Okay I admit I’m awful at ‘marketing.’ But my point stands! Follow for queer Tookish antics over the Edge of the Wild. 

You can keep up by following me here at @retellingthehobbit on Tumblr. This blog posts a new 10ish-page-long chapter once a month (on the 13th), as well as assorted WIP art :3. The first chapter on tumblr is here. (I started out posting on my main @secretmellowblog, so the earlier chapters were posted there instead.) However, I personally recommend keeping up with the comic by bookmarking it on ao3 here or subscribing on Webtoon here. This keeps all the chapters neatly organized in one place, and also sends you an email notification whenever it updates, which is helpful because I don't update weekly :). I currently update monthly, on the thirteenth day of every month.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!