#idk i was having a hard time parsing how i feel about it

[kvberhearts]

listen

the thing abt the ahsoka show for me is. it just. it feels. it feels like a weird fan adaptation of rebels. it feels like they just went hey. what if we made really good cosplay and did a rebels sequel, i have a set we can use and some sick computer effects and graphics.

which is not a bad thing! it just! doesn't feel like it fits!

it feels like they've got the spirit of the characters, but they're just! not exactly right!

i know i'm gonna watch it bc i have to know post rebels things (that I can then choose to ignore) but. yeah.

[marklikely]

theres been a lot of talk about cinemasins again lately and idk how i feel cause on one hand its definitely untrue when people act like they invented this nitpick, shallow plot-hole-ding style of movie criticism and maybe they get way too much shit for that, but on the other hand they are just so very annoying & obviously wrong and therefore easy to use as scapegoats

[mrghostrat]

some tips for writing flow

i've had a lot of comments complimenting my writing style, most of which don't know how to explain or describe what they like about it. i never really knew either, but i've been paying more attention to the way i write things lately, in the hope of being able to understand and explain it.

a lot of this is "based on feel" with no hard and fast rules, but there's also very tangible techniques you can hopefully work into your own writing, if that makes sense? idk is this anything—

1 - sentence beats, and alternating them.

this is probably the biggest thing in my writing. i've realised my sentences can be measured in beats, based on their length and how many sections they can be broken into. the pattern changes often, and i don't have a concrete rule in how i fill a paragraph (again, i've only just put words to any of this), but it's probably the most important part of my flow. let's have a look:

1 beat: • this is probably the biggest thing in my writing.

2 beats: • i've realised my sentences can be measured in beats • based on their length and how many sections they can be broken into.

3 beats: • the pattern changes often • and i don't have a concrete rule in how i fill a paragraph • but it's probably the most important part of my flow.

it looks like a favour certain patterns, the only real "rule" i use is to construct a paragraph with various beats, and never put two side by side. whenever i'm struggling with my flow, it's usually because i've put two of the same beats next to each other and everything feels either stiff or crowded. i rarely put two side by side, unless it's for specific emphasis.

the other exception are paragraph breaks: these are a pause for breath, and allow us to reset the pattern. i often start and end my paragraphs with single beat sentences, and it doesn't feel like they're running on because there's that lovely breath between them.

2 - short paragraphs

the rule we learn in school is that new paragraphs are for new ideas. convert this to prose, and we can consider "ideas" to include the character's thoughts, new narrative tangents, and physical movement around a scene.

one of my biggest struggles reading "bad" fanfic is when paragraphs are too lumped together. crowley will walk into the bookshop, see aziraphale across the way, wander over to a shelf, select a book, then pour himself a drink all in one big chunk. i can't parse that. there doesn't have to be a new line break for every new action, but grouping the relevant ones together and breaking in between broad motions (i.e. walking across a room, acknowledging a character) can help ease readers through the scene.

paragraphs are a breath, not only for sentence flow, but for processing the action within a story. similarly, purposefully keeping multiple actions confined to a single paragraph can make them feel quicker, while breaking them up into multiple paragraphs will slow down the pacing (even if the amount of detail describing each action is the same). included some examples because i'm struggling to explain this one

3 - mixing metaphors

this might sound less flow related, but i used to struggle with it a lot as a young writer, and paying more attention to it has definitely helped clean up my flow and writing overall.

i love a good analogy, but it can be easy to get carried away, and this can bog down the prose. my personal rule is that i can get silly with my metaphors (see: the mon chéri magnet), but i can only use one at a time. no talking about the magnet in aziraphale's chest and the angel and demon on his shoulder within the same scene.

if i'm getting silly and long winded with a metaphor, i also try to limit the length of it to one or two paragraphs. paragraph 1: set up the metaphor, establish the analogy. paragraph 2: come back to the reality of the scene, then mention the metaphor once more to link it all together. if i'm feeling cheeky, then i mention the metaphor again ONCE in passing, a couple of paragraphs or even chapters later

the magnet was a fun one, because i kind of flipped how i would usually present a metaphor, with the long winded tangent coming last instead of being the set up. and even though i used the metaphor 3 times, it felt like 2 because the set up was really just a planted seed for what i'd be mentioning later in the theatre. referencing the "whispered curse in the dark" also helped tie the scenes together and keep the analogies neat and tidy in our heads

meanwhile i got a little more carried away with the space metaphor in postcards (i feel like there's probably a 4th and maybe even 5th mention during the bookshop scene), but each one was blink-and-you'll-miss-it brief that didn't slog down the prose.

4 - avoiding repetitive pronouns

we're all going to struggle with this, and i don't have a secret hack for avoiding a wall of "he this, he that, he then," and i honestly try not to beat myself up over it too much. but there are two things i check to make sure it's not getting too repetitive:

1. looking within a paragraph

apparently everything revolves around paragraphs and the breath between them lmao. i don't have a strict rule like "use the character's name once per paragraph, then 'he' for the rest" or anything like that, but it's in that kind of vein. i simply pay attention to one paragraph at a time to watch for too much repetition, and if i notice it's been one or two whole blocks without switching from 'he' to a name, i'll chuck one in to break it up.

2. paragraph starters

this is so picky. and i don't know if it does ANYTHING, but it bugs me when i'm writing and i notice every paragraph starts the same way. maybe it has no effect on the flow at all. but i like to make sure my paragraphs aren't starting with the same "he" "he" "he", and that forces me to go back and switch around the pronouns in recent sentences, so the next paragraph can flow on more smoothly.

5 - use interruptions appropriately

edit: sneaking this one in here as a final thought! i just want to mention the use of em-dashes, semicolons, footnotes, and parenthesis mid-sentence. it's common to favour one in particular, but each have spectacular uses and can add miles to the pacing and flow of your prose.

em-dash (—) interruptions, cutting off dialogue— pausing to make a point — like this — in the middle of a sentence.

semicolon (;) helps with making lists and continuing a compound sentence that doesn't really link with 'and' or 'but'; when you want to pause, but a new sentence would break the flow of things.

footnotes (¹) these should be optional additions to the text imo. you should be able to keep reading without looking at the footnotes and not lose an ounce of story. they're additive, not necessary.

parenthesis ( () ) a great way to interrupt yourself (less sharply) than with em-dashes, include longer pieces of information (like what you might put in a footnote, except more crucial to the narrative that you don't want people to miss!) and adding sass (lol) and tone to your prose.

[tabithatwo]

Do you believe Jackie and Shauna have a codependent relationship in canon? and if you do, who do you think is who in the relationship ("giver"/"taker") dynamic?

i think this is a very interesting and difficult question to parse out, mostly due to the fact that they're teenagers when we see them together. being 18/19 really does mean heightened emotion, less frontal lobe development and therefore less impulse control and ability to moderate our interactions with others, more hormonal imbalance, just a perfect storm of codependency. i say this lovingly, as a lesbian who experienced what its like to be a teenage lesbian and did her fair share of insane shit lol, the type of crazy you can attain as a teenage sapphic is fucking unmatched. there is this deep and unyielding attachment that forms between girls in general at that age and when you add romantic love that spark of crazy easily transitions to a wildfire. i think so many people see themselves in jackie and shauna because it is a more shared experience than we like to admit and the show fucking nails it.

when you're in it, you think that you're the only one feeling that sort of intense obsessive consuming need for a person. often you don't see that the other person wants and needs you just as deeply, because we all do our best to hide what we know isn't acceptable. and its true. that sort of desperation isn't healthy at all. we should all strive to be more comfortable in ourselves and to stop putting all our happiness (not just happiness really, because when you're consumed by someone like that every emotion hinges on them) into external factors, especially one person. but learning to do that is a process. we don't come out ready to do that. it takes time and development and independence that you can't achieve when you're that young.

then we get older and we're embarrassed when we look back on those behaviors. we shove them down and pretend they didn't happen as best we can and we definitely avoid talking about them with other people. i can't tell you the amount of times a rush of just total abject horror at how obsessed i was with my high school best friend, turned homoerotic nightmare, turned girlfriend, turned ex hit me in my mid twenties. like your brain starts kicking in and you just go GOOD GOD!!! what was i THINKING??? but more years pass and time makes the sting of things lighter and now i can talk to her and sometimes (sometimes!) we can broach the really fucking deranged things we did and thought and its weirdly healing and horrifying all at once.

now, idk if you're still with me because that was a long intro that didn't even touch on the topic yet, but i promise i'm getting somewhere:

i think that jackie and shauna are fully and completely dependent on each other. i don't think that there is one giver and one taker. i think that they are a beautiful and tragic example of the crazy obsessive entangled love that happens between young sapphics. for me, watching them and discussing them and writing them is so freeing, because it allows me to actually face the harsh realities of unhealthy dependence.

neither of them could ever be whole without the other. and i don't mean that in a romantic hyperbole-fueled manner. i mean that in a truly horrifying way. i mean that to them functionally, they are girls who have body parts as real as any other, that are unattached from their nervous system. jackie's arms are shauna's arms and shauna's arms are jackie's arms. each girl has two hands that touch and do and create and destroy, without her brain giving the okay. each girl has to watch, as an extension of herself does something that she would never ever allow. when they're apart, when they're fighting and hurting, when shauna goes to sleep in the attic, its as though their lungs and their hearts are in another room.

who gives and who takes is hard to answer in specifics, though the simple answer is both for each. but the best way i can put it is that jackie gives more and more in the tangible real world. she tries to anticipate shauna's every need. she gives her the last bite of food. she gives her everything she has and then some, because jackie's biggest fear is shauna taking a seam-cutter to all the parts of them that are sewn together and becoming a separate entity. jackie squeezes shauna tight in her hands and shauna gives more pieces of her body and soul to their shared cache than she wants to.

shauna has an image of freeing herself from the dependency, but she doesn't like to reckon with herself and she doesn't like to see all the places that she expects jackie to be an extension of herself. so when she tries to make space, shauna doesn't even realize that she's not separating them at all. she's touching where jackie touches and kissing where jackie kisses. she is trying to be jackie, but not truly in a jealously way. not in a way that undermines their romantic love. shauna is trying to be jackie in a way that intensifies their dependence, because even if consciously shauna is aging and trying to forge a path for herself with a new school and a new life, like most of us tend to try and do at that age, shauna is still subconsciously trying to fuse them into one being.

and when jackie dies, shauna absorbs her. because she can be both. she's been practicing for this her entire life.

[argoxnautilus]

besties i think i am hitting a point where i am no longer able to know as much as i should

i can't understand schoolwork anymore. social stuff is harder to parse, and i think it's because i have to do school AND job AND everything else. the stuff i should be well versed in by now, like politics, doesn't make sense to me no matter how hard i try--when i go past any of the basic stuff, reading political theory just makes me feel like a fucking...hp lovecraft protagonist, i just can't picture any of it.

most of my social interactions are either scripted ahead of time or have me feeling like a text generator, putting words together with no understanding of what they mean with only a vague idea of what i'm supposed to be going for. it's easier online, i think because i only have to worry about the words and not both the words and how i'm saying them, but both irl and online i always eventually slip up despite my best efforts to do it right. i copy mannerisms and behaviors in the hope that it pleases other people, and that backfires too--i lost a close friend this year because a behavior i'd learned from 2 separate friend groups and thought was the right behavior to make was actually bad and hurt them to the point they no longer speak to me at all.

i can't understand the nuance for that stuff either, no matter how hard i try. either i did it wrong, or i did it right, and...god, everyone else just seems to know what it means. i don't. i can't, i think. i don't understand any of it.

does this come across? does anyone understand what i mean? i'm scared, i need help, i'm scared that i'll always be reliant on my parents or other people who want to hurt me, i'm scared i'll make too many mistakes and that the world will throw me away. i'm scared because i haven't sat down and drawn for months. i'm scared because i can't tell if people are gonna help me or hurt me. i'm scared because the fucking english paper i was supposed to finish last semester doesn't even have a rough draft because i can't remember how to write essays anymore. might be autistic, might've finally hit my disturbingly low ceiling of achievement, might just be fucked in the head. i may get a diagnosis for autism at least, but that takes time, and...idk if anyone will even care. or if they'll hate me for it. idk if that even makes sense. my coworker and manager and i have a betting pool on it. i learned this week it was supposed to be a joke, but they didn't laugh at me about it, so that's chill. feel really stupid about not realizing though.

anyway, i think 4 paragraphs (5 with this one) is enough. sorry for putting a long post about my issues on your dash. here's a cat for scrolling this far

[skitskatdacat63]

thinking so hard about . when exactly in the martian timeline they hated and loved eachother can u help me .. cause after turkey 2010 they had their love moments as well and even in 2012 they had their buddy buddy moments so idk !!! they’re confusing

OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY I MEANT TO REPLY TO THIS AND THEN I JUST COMPLETELY FORGOT, SO: hello :D

This is something I think about often as well. Teammates are a weird dynamic in F1 because you're forced to compete for the same resources and against each other in the WDC, but at the same time have to still think combined for the team, for the WCC. I think teammate relationships are like being siblings or like being in a marriage(actually I think Mark has said this before haha.) You can never fully hate or separate from each other, even if you go through rough patches, because you're stuck together and have had the same experiences, for good or for worse.

Turkey 2010 is funny because I think that was one of their first bad moments as teammates, right? And I love that RBR made them take that couples therapy, "us in our get-along shirt", picture. That's what I mean by going through the same experiences, like yeah they were probably pissed at each other but were also probably bonding over the hilarity/awkwardness of RBR making them do damage control.

I just think it's probably difficult to stay upset with someone consistently when you're constantly working with them, and you've also experienced the highest highs and lowest lows with each other. I think I referenced this in my Martian champagne pics post but it's kinda funny when you look through all of those shared podiums that Mark always seemed to be way more willing to spray Seb and smile at him when Mark was the one who won(Literally 3/4 of the pics from that post when they were both at RBR were from Mark's wins.) Like it was such a "I can't stay mad at you 🤭" relationship with them. Like with Mark in particular, it feels like whenever he got a better result, he was mostly like "I shall forgive your transgressions." But then 2013 was kind of the last straw for him, with Multi-21, and especially since he really was getting crushed by Seb and not even getting any wins like in the prev years. But then, by removing himself from it all when retiring, he was able to take a step back and see what it was like to not be in constant, direct competition anymore.

Idk if I'm the best person to ask as I don't think I'm in any measures a great Martian scholar. But these are my thoughts :D I just think being teammates in such a competitive environment can result in such love-hate relationships and that Martian is one of the greatest examples of how it fluctuates. I think it'd be really difficult to try and parse when exactly they were on good or bad terms. For me, tbh I think it kinda correlates with Mark's results because I think with just that whole situation, where they were in as teammates directly competing at the very top, it was a lot easier for Mark, rather than Seb, to start feeling resentment as he was generally drawing the shorter straw most of the time.

Basically, teammates(Martian especially) are bonded through triumph and trauma

[athousandmorningss]

Not that you asked.

Couldn't make myself board my train yesterday, and so delayed my arrival home until the middle of the week. I'm feeling a bit anxious about it, like I'm being too self-indulgent (and my wallet is echoing the same sentiment), but I'm tryna rationalize with a) I am teaching online classes RN, and have several more starting in a few weeks, and so am actively making money b) I was asked to teach a face to face course with the promise, that if I did, I'd be given as many online sections as I prefer and c) It's a long weekend, and I'd rather spend it in the city then on my way home. Today I'm ganna do a nice long wandering walk by the water, come back to the hotel and get a swim in, and be in bed by early evening to watch my Bravo shows :D.

-

I need a minute to parse my experience of being back home (or home adjacent, Idk where home is). I stayed with BF (J) for the first part of my trip. It was fun in a lot of different ways: we went to a butterfly museum and to the top of mt.sugaloaf, the beach, walkin, one night got high AF with the whole family and decided to watch Pee Wee's Big Adventures. The way J's mom said PeeWee; her husbands high giggling; the fact that we were all watching PeeWee made me laugh and laugh and laugh. They are weird people and I love that about them.

J and I got into it, though. At brunch, she pointed out a perceived trait of mine but articulated it in a very cruel way. It felt exactly like how Y used to make me feel: small and stupid. She apologized and admitted that she'd "channeled y" via her comment, and felt terrible. The disagreement encouraged us to communicate clearly about it, to listen and hear each other. I initially felt glad that we'd discussed it, but began to feel this pervasive sense that I was being watched, judged and evaluated for my behavior throughout. I felt uncomfortable. I also felt uncomfortable with the way J talks to her youngest sister. Again, it reminds me exactly how Y would talk to me. I'd argue that J is emotionally abusive to her sister, and it was uncomfortable to bear witness to.

Loving people is hard: J & I talk every day, we have a fun and supportive relationship, she has been beyond supportive about my divorce. She's done some interpersonal work that I'm really proud of, she's incredibly goofy and funny, etc. Yet being around her after the first two days became uncomfortable, and I'm not sure what to do or how to process those tensions.

-

Met another friend in the city, and this also felt uncomfortable to me. We were really close for many, many years but have started to drift. I just. I'll say this. I will not be a receptacle for anyone's envy or jealousy. I am not in competition with anyone.

-

I have a complex relationship to/with relationships and people in general. A part of me really pines to be in and with connection to others. Another part of me feels drained by the presence of others. I noted, while being in the presence of J and her family, how much people talk about each other (especially family members gossiping about other family members). I sometimes deeply miss having a family, but this dynamic reminded me that much of it often involves (again) being gossiped about or judged. Not having a family affords me a unique freedom: one that saddens me and liberates me at the same time.

-

Kate Bolick writes, in Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own, "I built, then, my own kingdom according to me own laws, and when the sun beat down, it beat down only on me, and when my feet acclimated to the freezing water, it was my resilience that made this so. My experience of being alone was total."

My Big Solo trip has felt a manifestation of the above: I am buoyed by my own curiosities; led by my singular adventuring: very much alone, both saddened and hopeful by being expelled beyond the containment of friendship, family, marriage and something bigger than myself.

[grahamcarmen]

Little rant but I saw a semi recent post about how RedCrackle is weird cause Carmen mentioned how she sees Graham as a big brother and that shipping them is weird cause if the brother/sister dynamic and I’m like……. Why are people still arguing if it’s okay to ship TWO NON RELATED ADULTS 😭 almost been three years since the show ended and peope still think redcrackle is like Reylo or like pro ships😭😭😭 I could literally write a page on why RedCrackle is the ship that makes the most sense out of the show but I digress

Ok

A) if you ever mind *-* I would like to hear why you like red crackle ! I like hearing why other people like them :3

B)...yeah ok I'm ...always beyond frustrated that this still is a thing.

And I try not to touch on it too much because other people have already mentioned why that its not SooOoo weird to consider them romantically :/. and I like them kissing endgame so that usually all I have to say about it most of the time.

Most people don't. I really do.

And I've Reblogged from people who already said 🤨? For me . [Including nodding my head at a couple people who waaay back in s1 !who didn't even ship RC! react like "oh ok siblingless behavior" to comments like that+ arguments that usually *he's like a brother* can be used as a "we are close" statement for the moment when those feeling actually might change ex: see pam from the office]

But like if you don't like even a wiff of that type of connection implication happening with your ships? It squicks ya out that happening in ANY point of the dynamic ? Toeachandallthat

However repeating the 2 cents today. ITS A CANON THING THAT CARMEN WAS PUT IN A SITUATION WHERE GRAY LOOKS HER UP AND DOWN AND THINKS SHES ATTRACTIVE AND ASKS HER OUT ON A DATE AND SHE ALMOST GOES. ITS NOT A FANON THING. ITS LITERALLY AN EPISODE.

They are not related!! Hence. "Like" a brother. Not brother. And him acting friendly to her for a year doesn't make them related. [💀dude...a single year?]

And both of those times are an acknowledgment of what their Past dynamic was before

A) he was revealed to have completely different values than her [but she still has hope for him even tho looking up to him is over]

B) the possibility of reconciliation was presented as a possibly romantic one.

" before he was crackle he was gray and gray was like a big brother to me, I thought I lost him for good but this could be...i don't know... some sort of do over., a second chance?"

Everything about that do over is slightly romantic tinged and carmen KNOWS. And her eyes still light up ala 🥺

AAAAAAAANd for good measure she slips up and apologizes to GRAY for standing him up on the date with soft smile which im inclined to think is as genuine as the grimace when he reminds her that GRAY didn't ask her out. Graham did.

I'm not gonna pretend she fell right then and there but the possibility does not disgust her. She even flirts a bit back.

Thats not what hinders her.

vile having him does.

💀like idk why its so hard to accept the fact of some people liking that it might change because the original dynamic already HAS changed and if they even want to be friends later they need to parse out a lot of stuff. Its like not as simple as this is what they were and always should be. Even after literally everything that has happened.

And even the show makes carmen acknowledge that in the Himalayas when she doesn't get her [ skip ahead ]. Its more complicated than that. The people and emotions involved are more complicated than that.

And Hey ! HI! Gray does end the series with romantic feelings for her just not really the confidence that she would want to see him again.

So like...don't ship them idc but like the idea of romance in the carmen/gray dynamic was a show thing, they're both adults , not related , KNOW what they were to each other and have peeked at what they MIGHT be while bringing it up TWICE [ at the himalayas/ and a flashback when she's regaining her memories] so 🤷‍♀️ like idk why the surprise that some people hope it does go in that direction

[quiveringdeer]

idk where it came from but I have this really specific headcanon of Annie being a lesbian and the first person she came out to was bertholdt like Annie is probably really distraught from all this confusion abt her sexuality and it’s the first time Bert has ever seen her cry and he’s trying his best to comfort her and kinda doing a bad job in some peoples opinion but Annie isn’t the best at crying or expressing her emotions so to her, it’s kinda comforting that Bert is also not really good at this as well and Annie just goes “you don’t understand bertholdt, I like girls!” And she says this like it’s a bad thing (comphet is a bitch) and bertholdt is just like “….I mean I like girls too?” And Annie laughs and yeah I just love them :')

NONNIE THUS IS BEAUTIMUS!!!!! 10000000/10! PHENOMENAL!!!

my brook is curled on my hand in a way that makes typing difficult but damn it I must add my thoughts!!!

Bertie has such a big heart and great empathy but is absolutely terrible at knowing how to express that all!! Even with people he does so with often like Rei or Pieck. So Annie coming to HIM with all this, has him spiraling trynna figure out how best to comfort her. Cause as you said, he's never so much as seen her cry before.

She's so overcome with emotions it's also hard for him to parse out what she's rambling about but he's rubbing her back--if she is okay with that. Then she blurts out that statement and!!!!

THAT IS EXACTLY HIS RESPONSE!!! IT'S PERFECT!!

My brain was lining him up to say something so similar too! I feel like even if Bert, in this moment, isn't super knowledgeable or knows anyone else with differing sexual identities, he's such a supportive person that of course he's gonna accept it!

I firmly believe that this is the case even if he happens to be harboring any type of crush or romantic feelings for her at the time. Bert is a good person and at the end of the day he's firstly, honored that Annie would feel safe enough to breakdown in front of him and share all this. And secondly, loves and cares for her in a way that wishes to hold up her happiness as the most important thing. So, whether she knew of his feelings or not ((we know she probably did cause he's only just mildly better at hiding things than Reiner, which isn't much lmao)) he's not gonna bring that up in any weird way then or in the future.

When she laughs at his lil joke offering, he relaxes and ends up fully hugging her. And you know he gives great hugs!! His chin rests on the top of her head and he gives her a firm squeeze. "I'm happy you're discovering more about yourself and felt comfortable enough to share with me. I'll always be one of your biggest supporters, Annie."

[rollercoasterwords]

oh!!!! happy 100k words wfrau!!!!!!! she's getting bigger (<- like you would speak of a puppy). how long is it supposed to be & how far along are you? and also... would you like to share a snippet you like (from any chapter ofc... no pressure if no it's completely understandable)? what do you enjoy the most about writing it? bc it seems like you're having fun & it's so nice to see someone enjoying a hobby so openly online... especially writing... there's this conception that writers don't actually enjoy writing (the whole 'forcing myself to write' bit) and i'm curious to hear your perspective on it!! also!!!!!! i hope moving will be easy & fun & the world will be kind to you with the change <3 i keep telling myself 2 read marx but i can't find any good translations to my native language and reading it in english is making my brain go grgrgrgrgr like an air conditioner on its last leg so alas it might have to wait... so true for liking iced drinks they're really the best!! i've heard someone say it's childish but i think they just live a very miserable hot life in the august heat drinking their hot coffee instead of putting some ice cubes in it :) it's funny you say that about fav line because it's definitely my fav fic of your writing & the ending of it is soooo beautiful i get back to it every time i need to feel something!!!!! that song line is beautiful too omg... and well the weather is hell everywhere at least the world is all suffering together :( i hope the atmosphere isn't suffering too much :/ honestly i am a big 'i would rather be hot than cold' believer because i am from a hot country so i know how to deal with the heat but you know what i'm sure the chill can also be intriguing to some... not me though... i hope the winter will be kind on you <3 thank u for letting me invade ur ask box i am creating myself a room here for now i think. anyway. love and hugs!!!! <333

hello!! she is indeed getting bigger <3 if i had to guess right now i'd say i'm maybe...possibly nearing the halfway point of the fic, plotwise? but honestly it's really hard to say lol. i've got 2 more story arcs to cover in part 3 (plus finishing the current one), and then part 4 is gonna have like...2 or 3 story arcs as well, plus an epilogue. so it just depends on how long it takes me to cover all that ground!

and yeah i'm having a lot of fun writing!! i know what u mean abt the whole "ugh writing amirite" bit that writers do lol and i'm sure i do it sometimes too...i mean i think tone varies a lot and many people who complain about writing still really enjoy the activity, but i do think there is sometimes this self-flagellating tendency amongst some writers to act like writing is meant to be this strenuous, emotionally draining activity like ur...idk sisyphus w the stone or something, and if you're writing something 'easy' or 'fun' you're somehow a lower caliber of writer than those who Nobly Suffer for their art, etc...which i think is dumb lol. suffering doesn't inherently make art any better or more noble

& thank u 4 the well-wishes w moving!! i'm mostly nervous about getting to my flight on time lol i have to go into work the literal day before i leave and then catch a train across the country at 5am the next morning 2 get 2 the airport...not going 2 be fun so i'll take all the well-wishes i can get !!

sorry 2 hear u can't find marx in ur native language :( it's hard enough 4 me 2 understand reading in my first language i cannot imagine trying 2 parse it in a second language...maybe it might be easier 2 find one of his (or engels') shorter texts 2 read? capital is a monster but i started off with a few shorter pieces ('socialism: utopian and scientific', 'principles of communism', 'wage labour and capital,' 'value price and profit') which i found helpful! also there are lots of secondary resources of other people breaking down + explaining marx's work; maybe there's a good source in your native language that could give a summary/overview of capital? there's no one right way 2 learn, it's just abt finding what works best for u!!

iced drink supremacy 4ever truly <3 me myself & i we can only enjoy a hot beverage if it's very cold outside...otherwise i am simply thinking well why would i do that 2 myself... & thank u!! happy 2 hear u like the lines!! v happy w them v proud <3 & also appreciate the well-wishes re: weather i cannot relate 2 the hot-weather preference i much prefer cold...or at least i used to i grew up in a relatively cold climate but then i moved south 4 university so at this point i'm going on 6 years of living in what is categorized as a "humid subtropical climate" & i think my winter tolerance has been all but destroyed it hardly ever drops below freezing...but hot&humid weather is still my least favorite i think i would prefer icy-cold winter + mild summer but i will be actually putting that theory 2 the test this year so!! who knows maybe my hubris will be my downfall...

& of course!! u are welcome 2 stop by + chat anytime...in my heart we are drinking iced beverages 2gether <3 also as requested here is a snippet from ch 14:

“Don’t,” he tells her, firmly, “Don’t say that. I don’t—want you involved. If they ever did anything to hurt you…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” She stares at him, eyes ablaze. “And how do you think I feel? Knowing that they only pick on you because—” her voice falters, cracking, “Because you’re with me?” Her lip is trembling again, tears threatening to spill over from her eyes. Sirius shakes his head, helplessly, at a loss for what to do.

[cosmosees]

Given that you beat Sonic Forces recently I’m wondering, what would you improve to make it a overall better game?

ohh this is something i actually have thoughts about. lemme do a readmore because youve caught me at a good time friend

ok so first of all the glaringly obvious thing is to nix classic sonic. i like classic! hes a cute little dude!! he did not add anything to the game. his levels were the ones i got stuck on the most often, and they didn't even really need to be there! he doesn't add anything to the story, and i feel like it wouldve made more sense to focus on modern sonic and the rookie.

and on that note....i feel like they shouldve gotten rid of the 2d stages/segments in general. they are nnnoott fun. throwing 2d platforming with a dark, hard to parse color palette in a way that punishes you for building momentum in a boost game was not a good choice. during the next to last avatar level i literally had to change my avatars colors just so i could see her because i kept running off cliffs. this gripe is situational to what color rookie you have but the fact that its a gripe at all is a problem!

i do like the wispons as a gameplay concept and several of them are fun to use, but i kind of wish some of them felt better to use- particularly lightning, which has accidentally thrown me off of platforms a few times. the whip thing is a cool idea but it jerks you around so violently and you basically come to a complete stop for a good few frames after using it, so if you didnt hit the enemy you wanted (which is. pretty easy!) youre vulnerable

the double boost segments are fun but i wish there was a way to disable the button mashing. ive had repetitive stress strain in both wrists for a long time and there were points where i would have to put the game down after doing one because my wrists hurt!! i cant imagine how hard those must be for people with hand mobility issues worse than mine.

and like...in terms of story. my biggest gripes are the fact that it takes itself too seriously, the lack of cohesion surrounding infinite and the ruby, and the lack of prominence of the rookie. the first and third one are pretty easy fixes but for the second one like.

one. just decide whether eggman made the ruby or not. its so easy.

two. episode shadow is something that is integral to infinites character but it is SO ooc for shadow. i think if it had to be kept, shadow should be replaced with another character. maybe omega! idk it sure wouldve made his random appearance at the end of the game feel more earned

anyway ive been a longtime forces fan and i really really love this game in THEORY, it has strong concepts going for it but the execution in nearly all of them is anywhere from lackluster to straight up bad. such is the life of a sonic fan i suppose

[avianstrange]

Some headcanons I have about Eddie that are based on exactly 0% canonical evidence and 100% the Vibe:

(Kept below a cut to spare the long scroll)

Eddie is extremely musically inclined and while I know this might seem like a "Duh" thing, I mean that he picks up on music almost as soon as he starts playing it, he's got perfect pitch, taught himself musical theory, knows ALL the classical artists and DOES listen to them to hone his hearing, so he can basically parse out a note while listening alone. That is to say, if Eddie wasn't from a poor family, he'd be one of those prodigy kids.

He read the Lord of the Rings series, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion - and he actually understood the Silmarillion. (Look, I've tried reading it and it's hard. Could just be me, tho.) He also read all the Narnia books and ended up disliking them for the disservice they do to Susan.

He never forgets a face. This is why he remembers Chrissy so well - he also remembers just about everyone he used to get along with/play with in elementary and early middle school. He's basically Veronica Sawyer here, tbh. ("Dear Diary, my teenage angst bullshit has a body count.")

His Uncle Wayne introduced him to heavy metal and rock music.

Eddie initially embraced heavy metal because it was so opposite of what his father (a Christain fundamentalist who listened primarily to Frank Sinatra and piano and lowkey headcanoned himself as a member of the Mafia because he went to one (1) pizza place in New York twenty years ago) listened to.

It took years to for Eddie to realize the reason his father taught him things like how to hotwire a car was because his father took vindication from the fact Eddie was going to turn out exactly like him, so Eddie couldn't blame his father for his faults because they were "ultimately the same." Edit: Adding here because after re-reading I feel it's slightly unclear, but Eddie's father was trying to purposefully sabotage Eddie's life.

While Eddie absolutely worked his heart out to buy that electric guitar himself, Uncle Wayne would occasionally "accidentally" drop money in the piggy bank. Eddie, not known to be the best at addition, did not notice.

The curls are real. He just styles them to look like that. For reasons.

His mom was an angel. C'mon, that's how this shit works. She probably died tragically. Either that or she ran away the way Billy's mom did or something, which could explain some of Eddie's bitterness about himself running away all the time. (Besides the tough-guy thing from being a metalhead and such.)

About the scene where Eddie throws his vest at Steve: Lots of people have said this shows signs of how much he trusts Steve (the vest being an important part of his identity), and from a shipping standpoint I totally agree, but I also like to think Eddie preferred to keep the leather jacket, because leather is heavier and in a stressful situation like that, he might have felt more comfortable with the weight. (This is also kind of a ND headcanon based on how feel myself when I'm overwhelmed.) So it could be that he trusts Steve with the vest AND he prefers to keep the leather jacket. You can also kind of see this in his scene with Chrissy. He starts hugging his arms/crossing them over his chest and all these things read as slight discomfort to me - maybe because he'd prefer to have the jacket and vest on, but he took it off to make Chrissy feel more at ease? Idk, but it would be super sweet of him if true.

You know he NEVER takes the jacket and vest off unless absolutely necessary. Like it has to be 100°F before he does.

He had a crush on Steve Harrington. He masked this crush by vehemently insisting he didn't like Steve because he was popular and shit. I know this is cliche but I love it ok

Those stains are from beer, soup, coffee, etc that he's set on the edge of the bed and repeatedly spilled because He Just NEVER Learns

He'll frequently substitute words/sentences with lines and phrases from books and movies he's read as a means of communicating when all else fails. (Same, bro)

Eddie has the ENTIRE Rocky Horror Picture Show memorized. Down to the point he could rewatch the whole thing in his head when he's bored in class.

[death-rebirth-senshi]

I also hate that Bayo 3 like. Tones down the sexy but what it tones down is Bayonetta being sexy on purpose so what we're left with is a Bayonetta who's still half naked all the time but doesn't own it except for one encounter with werewolf Luka where she's weirdly horny in a. Not typical Bayonetta way! Like idk it's just horny it's not respectful of Bayonetta and no one fucking gets it no one gets the NUANCE and then I have to see takes like "well the Let's Dance Boys segment in Bayo 3 was better because it less horny and more camp" (because of course camp and horny are two opposed factions)

And like idk it's hard because I am gay so it all has a different effect on me but I also I see so many desperate takes about how Bayo 1 and 2 horniness was not for straight men and it's like baby a straight man made it. But I also feel you on Bayonetta 3 is uniquely for the straights. It's a complex subject I don't have the brain power to parse it. And Bayo 3 is still a betrayal on multiple fronts no matter how you slice it.

[whoslaurapalmer]

lulu i just want to say i'm in LOVE with your post-canon fic and also in tears (actually in tears literally not metaphorically) i'm just feeling so emotional about them all of them. they're a family. the way Frank and Ernest says "that's a painting of my brother", the comical-ness of confusion from the guests' point of view mixed with the heavier reminder of the past of how Dewey's gone, but also the way he doesn't have to be a secret now (even though most people still don't know" and they can put a portrait of him up there for people to see. and the way frank gets exactly what ernest meant when he wants the portrait to look like dewey. and frank and babybea's conversation. i'm just rereading it again and again and getting so many feelings ahhhh

awwww vera!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖 i'm so pleased i have. made people cry. i love doing post-canon thoughts bc i think they are all such a precious family and they all deserve family!!!! and love!!! and there's lots of ways to show love!!!!! and babybea and all these people who love her, it's just...............AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

i put in the painting just as like. something i thought was silly, but then i thought, 'nope, you gotta see that one through.' i love the thought that of course frank and ernest would not open a hotel without the memory of dewey somewhere, and yeah! he doesn't have to be a secret anymore, it doesn't matter, but it still. kind of winds up being a secret, bc no one believes they're triplets. it's a tribute to your brother but your brother looks just like you and how can you differentiate to people who didn't even know him but it's so IMPORTANT that it's dewey and not anybody else!!!! but!!!!! he's there!! his memory is there and his brothers are there and his family is there and his LOVE is there in the lobby when babybea sits with frank!!!!!! that's what the point is!!!!!!! and now i'm gonna fucking cry!!!!!!!! sometimes it really all just is about love, in all kinds of ways. i love doing cozy (and silly.) (silly is a big requirement. hashtag pretzel indeed) family vibes. we need more of them post-canon. i always want to write more but sometimes i have a hard time getting the thoughts to make sense in words. what i started trying to do was stuff about babybea's back to school night, which was actually like, becoming less about family and more about, the place of lemony's books in the public consciousness of the snicketverse society, but i was not in the mood to address the complicated vibes of 'i mean, people had to witness some of this stuff, but i also think it's the most ideal, in terms of humor and also, How Terrible People Are, if they don't believe it really happened.' and that's just, a lot of complicated things to parse out (and part of what i want to get into in my sunny fic................eventually.............). ANYWAY. i really did just want to write about this family. i hold them very dear in my heart. nothing i love more than post-canon slow imperfect but glorious happiness.

also, i did not intend to write about frank? frank is the denouement i think about the least (sorry, frank) (i just enjoy rotating ernest around in my head so much..........). but idk, it felt like it needed to be his moment with his niece and his decision about the pumpkin. i think he and babybea get along better, from this point on. he's less nervous around her. they do more ships in bottles together, and probably big puzzles. like, 1000-piece puzzles. sometimes i also think i write babybea as not quite as old as she actually would be at this point, like, fuck does she act twelve???? (but also, she's been through a lot.) but i also think she really does keep a great deal of like. childhood joy in her, all throughout her life. she really deserves that, too.

oh, you know what..........i gotta get ramona into this at some point too. i keep MEANING too but there is always so much to discuss post-canon that i still haven't managed to get her in yet. my apologies as well, r.........

[always-andromeda]

I know it’s not historically accurate but… I wanna quote vines at Burt and have him be confused. Like he’ll catch on eventually why “Road Work Ahead?” Makes you die laughing but for now he’s lost.

Sure, he’s your dad boogie… woogie woogie?

uGH, I wanna confuse the absolute shit out of him with silly jokes. 🥰 Like I need him to do that blank, smiley expression, his brow furrowing as he’s computing your words and trying to parse out the joke. And then he awkwardly starts to laugh, trying to communicate that oh, yeah, I get it! even though he isn’t any closer to figuring it out than he was a few seconds prior.

Then you give him those big eyes and tell him that it’s okay that he doesn’t get the joke and that you’re just giving him a hard time before planting a kiss on his cheek. And that’s how he finds himself actually starting to laugh because so easily you turn him into such a scrambled mess. One minute he’s worrying that this is one of those times that the generational gap is being especially brutal and then the next he is right back to feeling like the luckiest man in the entire world because he gets to hear your laugh and see your smile and feel your lips against his skin in the first place.

Burt might be a sharp man, but when it comes to his sweetheart and their goofy little jokes, he feels like the dumbest man alive. But he’ll take it for you. <3

Other Vines that Burt would be confused about:

“Chris! Is that a weed?!” “No-” “I’m callin’ the police!” “911, what’s your emergency?”

“A potato flew around my room before you came…”

“So no head?”

The Iridocyclitis Kid (100% he’d be like “why are they laughing at him 🤨 he tried his best.”)

Don’t even try to hit him with a “wHAT ARE THOOOOOSE????” Because he will literally be like, “…my loafers… 😀”

Vines that Burt would understand:

“I want a Jewish girl that go to…temple…and read her Toraaaah…”

“Hurricane Katrina? More like Hurricane Tortilla!!” (Idk I just feel like that one would make him genuinely chuckle)

“Look at all those chickens!!” (Because haha, those aren’t chickens!! He understands that!! ☺️)

“Watch your profanity.” (Because he’s an old man and he agrees with the sentiment)

“Is that a chickeeen????” (Again, he gets it because haha, that’s not a chicken!! What a silly person!! ☺️)

[trenchcoatsbi]

HIHIHIH its me again!!! Doing this before doing my homework and multitasking wtching the qsmp streams lmao

but I think I might be kin with my own qsmp oc somehow?? And like its hard to figure out because that is my oc and I know ppl can be kin with their own ocs but I dont really know how to actually figure it out specially if all of the things I thought would be considered as memories or just daydreams and is confusing ;■;

So if you have any advice I would be delighted to know what it is! I really need those hehe—

-(cannon divergent llulah anon) furina/tilin qsmp⭑

gonna start this off by opening the floor to anyone who wants to chime in cause I’m not really too experienced in this specific thing so my advice might not be the best.

I have maybe one ockin and uh to be honest I'm still kinsidering him literally like a year after I put him on the kinsider list. But I do have kins from aus I've worked on/made and the experiences have been similar for me.

Like you said it's really hard to parse between memories and just plain ole daydreams. I do this thing where I like write it down on a doc and then make a copy of whatever I wrote and try change things. I can't really explain it but if changing things feels really wrong or upsetting usually I take that as a sign to maybe think on it more as a memory. I don't know but the more wrong it feels to change details the more I take my kinsiders (and those possible memories) seriously. That being said you do gotta consider the idea that sometimes it might just be you having an attachment to an idea completely separate from possible kin stuff though. Yeah idk t's all pretty subjective and hard to traverse (like most kin things are really...) but that's my one thing. It's kinda all I got, but I hope it's at least a little helpful to you!

At the end of the day what I think is the most important thing to know is that it really doesn't matter if you misidentify what you have going on. You're not always going to be right about things from the start and if you feel one way and then later down the line realize you were wrong that's fine! I guess what I'm saying is just take your time with it and don't worry too much if your thoughts on it change. Things will end up how they end up and no matter what that looks like your experience with it is valid.