#if one's generous it can even be considered '''''''style study''''''''.. but I simply do not give a heck

[gingerrtarot]

◌ ｡ PAC “I am feeling lonely…” - why? and how to deal with that?

hello, everyone! welcome to the reading.

here, as you can see, we will talk about loneliness. it’s not about just not having a lover or spouse, so if that’s your problem this may not resonate, as my intentions were different. with this reading i want to provide some help to people who feel alone in general.

with that said, let us get to the reading. remember that this is a general reading, so it may or may not resonate with you.

so, let’s pick a pile :)

pile 1 pile 2 pile 3

°｡ Pile 1. ◌

Hello, pile 1! definitely workaholics pile here. i see people with a strong will and self discipline. you can limit yourself greatly and set strict boundaries for yourself. sometimes this can be good, but you can overdo it. whether intentionally or not, you are closed to other people.

You probably take on a lot of responsibilities, be it work, study or self-development. you spend all your energy creating some kind of stability and confidence in the future for yourself. working hard to become your best self, and you may simply not have any energy or time left for others. You can also deliberately refuse to communicate and interact with people, so as not to be distracted from what you consider to be more important matters.

a saying comes to mind: “instead of catching butterflies, you need to build a beautiful garden and they will fly there themselves”. but in this case, you may devote all your time to building this garden, making it better and better and waiting for the butterflies to finally arrive, and at this time the butterflies are waiting near this very garden, which they cannot get into because it is closed. here i definitely see people around that share your ideas and ideals and are willing to be friends with you, and it is you - the one who don’t “let them in”. so advise here is simple, start to open up a little, let your guard down, “open the gates to your garden” :).

another message i get here is that people in this pile may be born leaders and they are used to talk to people in a manner where it sounds more like you are commanding. you may be as well too harsh with your words and that pushes people away from you. so you should watch your behaviour, because you probably don’t even notice it. you should try to be more gentle with others.

°｡ Pile 2. ◌

hi, pile 2! creative people over here. you have good and well developed imagination. you can be escapist. books, TV series, movies and other hyperrealities seem more attractive to you than ordinary life. maybe this happens because the conditions in which you live do not give you the opportunity to live the way you want. I feel that people from this group have problems with dealing with reality, fear of the future and a feeling of their own powerlessness in front of life. it feels you have no one or nothing to rely on, there is no feeling of support. such oppressive loneliness. the song by mitski- nobody comes to my mind. this pile probably suffers the most of all 3. you may feel almost isolated from others. the world is a cruel place to you. but it is still beautiful.. and you wish to be a part of it.

the reason for these problems may lay some differences with other people around you. Especially financial and status vise. but it may be just that you are different as well. not in a bad way, just the opposite. i see here people with unique talents and abilities, creative vision and truly interesting personality. your perception of this world, your ideas, thoughts and hobbies, even external attributes like style, appearance and so on are something that is not commonly accepted and approved. you may have been neglected many times. the experience of bullying, ridicule and misunderstanding may also have taken place here. it's caused you to stop expressing yourself and shut yourself from others. but still there is a desire to share whatever it is that you want with others. this pile has huge infp vibes, if you’re into mbti.

The advice here is to share whatever you value. and it’s not even about material values. well, it may be, if your high material status creates a gape between you and others, it may be great to do some charity. but, in general, it’s about your ideas, thoughts, creativeness. if you have a hobby, whatever it is, share it with others, let the world see your art. whatever it is that is important to you - share it. and you will be surprised by just how many people are out there will support you and will be willing to cooperate with you. i know it is easier to be said that done, but you can do it step by step, little by little. the things that we are afraid to do the most are the ones that will lead us to the biggest happiness.

°｡ Pile 3 . ◌

loving to be alone pile, huh? hello, pile 3. definitely, a group of introverts. and you are totally okay with that. you feel like you are “full” on your own. I feel that people in this group are extremely intelligent and spiritual. you have a lot to tell. and it’s not just idle talks, it’s something important and valuable. i see you may be into philosophy and may even have your own philosophical thoughts and ideas. with this pile I don’t see that your loneliness is a burden to you. people here strive for a deep special connection. you don’t need a big company of friends or a bunch of followers. you may have people around you but they are different. you don’t feel like you can have this connection with them.

I also think that people here believe in the divine timing.like, you know, the right people will come to you in the right time. so they just expect everything to happen naturally without doing anything (same guys).

I kind of see you like this princess in the tower. She is super smart, she has read thousands of books in her life, she knows so many things, but she has no one to tell it to. she, may be, has some birds and squirrels to chat with, but birds and squirrels are not able to understand princesses and so she stays there and waits for her lovely prince on white horse to come, whereas prince doesn’t even know about her existence. kind of similar to pile one.

advice here is to take actions. I think that some of you have this person in mind that you want to build this deep connection with, but you wait for them to take the first steps. and what you should do instead - you should do it yourself. take the initiative. even if you don’t have this particular person in mind you should still be more proactive. go for walks, travel, let the world know that you exist. don’t be afraid to draw attention to yourself. maybe, you won’t meet your “prince” right away, but it’s still better than to wait. don’t hide yourself from this world, let yourself experience all kind of experiences!!

well, that’s all for today. thank you for letting me read for you!

you can like this post or subscribe for some energy exchange, hehe

i will be super happy if it resonates, so please please please, let me know if it does!

bye bye ^^

[hyperactively-me]

Hi 💜💜💜I was wondering if you can write a ghost x reader who one day just gets a drastic hair cut. Like they always just had long hair ina ponytail but they just randomly decide to get shoulder langth hair and bangs. Like how do u think he would react?

I did that today and I feel so out of my comfort zone but I'm also so happy I finally made a change

U can ignore me if u want 😅

(I also really love black tie affair ur amazing 😍)

first of all, i bet your hair looks amazing! second of all, thank you for complimenting black tie affair, i truly appreciate it. i really really hope you like this 🫡

Simon "Ghost" Riley was a quiet man whose actions shouted volumes. Above all, action is what catches people's attention. And for Ghost, well, action is the way he communicates best.

He had always liked your long hair, frequently admiring it for its beauty. It became a trademark feature of your look, generally pulled back in a tight ponytail that matched your lifestyle. It was pretty much the only hairstyle you wore around the base, becoming your trademark look. However, one defining day, you decided to get a dramatic haircut. You wanted some change in your life, a fun, harmless way of bringing about a breath of fresh air. After you settled on what new style you wanted, your hair was now shoulder length, with stylish bangs framing your face.

When you entered the room, the team members turned their heads in astonishment, their eyes widening at your transformed appearance. Ghost, known for his constantly veiled face, couldn't help but leave a momentary expression of amazement before composing himself. His penetrating eyes inspected every aspect of your new haircut. 

For a brief minute, the room was deafeningly still, and then Ghost's lips curved into a smile. He couldn't disguise the admiration in his eyes as he looked at you. His typical stoicism dissipated, replaced with a feeling of warmth.

He was so used to seeing you with your long hair pulled back that he never considered the notion that you had the chance to make such a drastic change. The idea that you could change your appearance in this manner had simply never crossed his mind. Personally, he never really cared for his hair, often having “mask hair,” as his teammates liked to call it. But seeing you with your hair like this, he has to admit, he's thrilled by it.

He finally spoke. "You look different," he said, his voice a blend of surprise and genuinity. He studies the way your hair falls about your face, eyes flitting to and fro. “I love it. It suits you.”

His remark made you feel relieved. You were concerned that the new haircut would not be properly welcomed by your teammates, but Ghost's reply, however slight, soothed you. His approval meant the world to you.

“Thank you,” you said, your lips pulled in a modest grin. “I thought it was time for a change. Something new, y'know?”

Ghost stepped closer, his presence both welcoming and reassuring. He extended a gloved hand, his fingertips brushing against the ends of your new hair. 

You still, mouth agape as he unabashedly takes in your appearance.

“It's refreshing,” he stated, nearly whispering. “Like you.”

Your cheeks flushed, and you couldn't help but feel a burst of confidence. Ghost's infrequent displays of vulnerability had that impact on you. Something about his usual quiet behavior made his comments carry more significance, amplifying even the tiniest praises. 

Ghost continued stealing looks in your direction as the mission briefing began, a little grin tugging at his lips. He just couldn't stop appreciating the way you looked. Every time you took a quick glance at him, he appeared enthralled by your new appearance, admiring it in a manner that only he could. You smile to yourself, knowing that he's really, truly, appreciating you.

Though Ghost's emotions were normally veiled in mystery, his reaction to your haircut demonstrated that he paid attention to every little detail. And you knew his appreciation extended beyond your physical appearance. It was a deeper connection, a subconscious understanding that existed between the two of you.

Ghost's silent support remained consistent throughout the assignment, as did his faith in your skills. You couldn't help but be thankful for his subtle but significant presence in your life. And while you stood side by side, you couldn't help but think that change wasn't always about haircuts, but also about the unforeseen ways it altered the ties we had with those we cared about the most. Especially the way you and Ghost knew each other.

[thatlittleegyptologist]

It’s not hard to understand. If a person has a biology degree but works as a music producer, they’re not a biologist, they just have a biology degree.

If someone researches a subject but never got a degree in the subject or research in general, they are a hobbyist, not an academic.

Hey, thanks for coming here and providing this stone cold take!

See, if a person has a degree in a topic, despite not working in the field, they are, by definition, an -ist/academic of said field. A doctor, after all, doesn't stop being a doctor or lose that knowledge just because they teach biology for a few years. I became an Egyptologist when I was handed my degree the first time, and I'm an Egyptologist every time I answer an ask on this website. I also worked as an Egyptologist for a time. I take it that me no longer being paid just means they revoked my title? That's not how it works!

An academic, by dictionary definition, is someone who is related to education or scholarship or someone with an academic viewpoint/scholarly background. If someone devotes their time to scholarship of a certain field, then yes in one way it is a hobby, and in another way they're an academic. It is elitist to state that people who have great knowledges of subjects from their own careful research cannot be considered in any form 'academics' simply because they do not possess the bit of paper that says 'I studied this for 3 years at university'. University academics would not have half the knowledge they do have if it wasn't for non university academics. We work cooperatively, sharing the knowledge that we have. Is the hairdresser who showed university academics how she'd worked out the method for styling Greek and Roman hair not an academic? No, she didn't have a degree, but she worked on her hobby of a love of hairstyling through history and that became academic knowledge. She then shared this with university academics, who recognised the academic scholarship and took her research forward. She is, by definition, someone with academic knowledge of the history of hairstyling, and her contribution, due to lack of formal degree, should not be dismissed as merely 'hobbyist', because that is grossly elitist.

The fun thing about 'academia' is that it's flexible, despite what most people think. More people are academics than you might imagine. Doesn't mean you have to take all their word as gospel, and you have to be careful about what information they're giving you and the inherent biases therein. However, you have to do this same process with someone with a degree in a field too. We are not immune to being biased or presenting incorrect information by purview of X number of years at an academic institution, nor is anyone who is paid to be an academic exempt from this. It's about critical assessment of the information presented to you. Those who know what they're talking about present themselves in ways that aren't shouty and flashy. I know instantly when I'm talking to someone who's spent time doing research into a topic, whether formally or as a hobby, because of how they present themselves and their research. You can peer review a person and their knowledge by how they demonstrate it. Trust me on that. Other academics can tell the difference between a person who is 'I read a few books on this once' and one who is 'I have spent years of my life looking over different things and comparing them critically.'

Examine your own biases here; a) your comments aren't even what the original post was about, and b) your definition of what constitutes an academic is extremely narrow, so much so that it excludes a multitude of people, to whom academics would say 'they are one of us'.

[chaifootsteps]

Studio Anon here, after a while of lurking/doing my own thing. Luckily my emotions are much more in check and I’ve strayed from Viv stuff for a bit to relax and hang out with my loved ones! Coming back and seeing Viv throwing a hissy fit, Raph wanting to look/act like Angel (my goodness-), and somehow people still defending episode four is… really comedic, actually.

Everything is awful but man, somehow it just keeps getting worse!

Anyway, just writing my own general feelings on this and the ideas I had for a rewrite long before everything went to hell. I never really was interested in HH until maybe Helluva Boss’ trailer dropped. I found it strange that HH wasn’t even out yet but somehow this ‘spinoff show’ was already made and posted in the public. I thought it was really weird tho, considering HH is owned by a company now, technically, while HB is sorta just there? I only watched since it’s animation and I felt like I had to support it.

Buuuut the longer I had to stare at HB’s ugly designs (and seeing the new ones for HH) I simply wasn’t interested anymore.

I guess I dodged a bullet because jesus it just gets worse.

I don’t know how, genuinely, Viv is a shit artist and writer? She went to a prestigious art school for as far as I remember and got her shows made and animated. I’m studying myself, and god knows I’d want my stories out there! It’s clear that Viv has some idea of what she wants to do, but that’s the thing-,

All she had were concepts (also publicly displaying her fetishes in the public, which is also its own can of worms).

I know in my right mind I couldn’t send people out to work on my stories since they’re heavily in development- even then my character designs are complicated as shit so I wouldn’t dream of anyone animating. Viv’s style being the way that it is + her general palettes being Just Red makes it hard to focus on or do anything with.

I also don’t know how Viv is able to just show off her rape fantasies out there and I’d rather not talk about it (sex-repulsed and all), but the general lack of focus and priority in gay ships is really disgusting.

So, as a writer, I made a general outline of what I’d make Hazbin Hotel and/or Helluva Boss be about.

Redemption is an easy theme to work on for both. ‘Sins of the father’ as a trope could work too. I’ll just use HH for now, as this post would be lengthy should I cover both.

General worldbuilding; due to Lucifer’s habit of toying with human life, comparing them to nothing more than insects, God punishes him and Lilith (who could’ve been some kind of angel too? I know she’s from a different religion entirely, so let’s say she was a random angel) by sending them to Hell to deal with the worst sinners. He and the princes of hell (how do they not address this in Hazbin?), scorned and disgusted by Heaven, try to be controlling over their own citizens. Mimicking/acting out their anger towards God by playing God in their own rings. They’re evil and horrible leaders. Lilith makes Hell feel like a home for her and Lucifer at least, bearing a daughter to restore some humanity within the Pride ring.

So Pride, at least, is less threatening now that Lucifer has a daughter.

The other princes could then ‘rightfully’ call out Lucifer’s behavior, maybe serving as some antagonists for Charlie as she tries to convince them to bring their sinners in for redemption.

So TLDR; the princes and Lucifer have internal problems that Charlie would try and resolve somewhat since she believes in redemption.

Going off to the main story, Charlie is told of Heaven being evil and awful for what they’ve done to her parents and believes it until she meets V (or Ex-Overlord Vaggie in this rewrite). V was recently cast out of the other Vs and was maybe slated to die in the extermination until Charlie unknowingly saved her from her fate. Maybe we could even get a hint of V being an angel/exterminator before with one hesitating to kill her off. The two talk and when Charlie mentions Heaven being an ass, V could tell Charlie about Heaven being good, eventually causing Charlie to start thinking about redemption, and start the hotel.

V is given more thought in the story as Charlie’s love interest and the gateway to her learning more about the two sides. Charlie is so used to Hell being the way that it is that she never considered redemption until she hears and talks to V more. The two try and kickstart some sort of redemption but V is hesitant in getting redeemed and asks that, since Charlie is the princess of hell, they could ask Lucifer for a sinner or two to redeem.

Very loose from here, but after some talk, Lucifer gives them a rundown hotel to make their own, the Vs find out and gets Lust Sinner Angel down to take them out, but is charmed by the idea of redemption. Nifty, Alastor, Husk, and Sir Pentious are all from different rings and it takes Charlie a lot to convince the princes and to try and reconnect them to Lucifer, who seems to be caught off guard with how much Charlie is willing to give this a shot. Lilith on the other hand gets suspicious of V, which could lead to Lilith exposing V of being an exterminator and, “Messing with our daughter’s head so she’ll get killed in the next extermination!”

So drama with the parents, the princes, and struggles with redemption.

It all crashes down on Charlie and the Hazbin crew as they’ve began to grow closer on one another, V especially. The other princes could then be more empathetic (they aren’t as prideful as Lucifer, and Lucifer might love his wife more than his kid tbh) and try to reconnect with Lucifer in the same way Charlie connects to the other ring sinners.

Slowly but surely, the crew better themselves, and before the next extermination, the Angel Gabriel (ain’t he the whole Angel with the flaming sword?) flies down to see Charlie doing her best. Drama here, tension there, V is the first to get ‘redeemed’. Uh oh, angst!

V, after all this time, doesn’t want to be redeemed if that means she can’t stay with Charlie, which is why she was hesitant. Lucifer and the sins come in, try to kill Gabriel or something and there’s signs of a war, but Charlie stands her ground and tries to find some way to get both sides to work together on something, at least.

So. Purgatory.

I haven’t been mentioning Lilith much but she very much loves her daughter, and having enough pride in her (Charlie) ideals to make things better, to give people a chance at redemption, reminds her of her angel days. That peaceful life.

So she agrees.

The Hazbin crew get to work with her in purgatory, V gets to be all happy and cute with Charlie, and everyone learns to try and be better.

There. That shouldn’t be too hard. Maybe a little complicated but those are my surface thoughts. What do you and the others think?

[slimeology]

finally a time to create! today i put Charleston into another world, this time of cassette beasts because the game rocks and i had to.

I made a image of him in my best attempt of the style in the game as well! I will ramble of him below with an extra image.

I have been thinking on how his story would work in the context of the game. First thing is that he is no replacement of the main character, he is simply also there and had the misfortune of ending up in the marshes when he first appeared.

He likely appears somewhat after the player, not entirely sure what to do with himself as he's a scientist but lacks any and all equipment and generally struggles with his own use, let alone in another world. He's not very built for survival in the wilderness.

Generally I suppose he would somewhat be like a partner character though i go between him just being out there and such an idea. Either way he's support focused, as he doesn't believe in violence solving things, though between animals and such he understands, he prefers not to.

I doodled him as what would very likely be what he uses! or well one version, as it would start as a jumpkin.

Maybe it wouldn't just be a regular jumpkin, I do not know! A bootleg version would fit him as it isn't typical and coming from a different world he doesn't know what a pumpkin actually looks like. [he does not come from earth! earth is out there but he is not on it.]

Anyways, anyways, as many somewhat important characters have, his theoretical story line would end with an Archangel fight. Maybe I will try to recreate my idea but it would take some concepts and look from my own world, while playing by the rules of the game.

It would be the incarnation of something relating to isolation, perhaps just isolation itself. Charleston in his own story is very very isolated, and coming to a new world is even more so.

The Archangel would be ancient in lifespan, with humanity being a social species the idea would've existed for ages, but it's form is long since broken up and weakened. I see it only appearing pretty late, considering I have in mind it takes one of the Landkeepers as they are vessels already and in their existence are very isolated, especially if they were human once.

It does not fit inside the vessel though, so it has burst forth. Similar to some kind of parasite perhaps, as isolation can consume the mind if left long enough. I guess the look would be a mishmash of the pixel art and something else, to look more alien and seperate from the game world.

I realise at this point my words have stopped being about Charleston whoops- the ideas have just been in my brain! I hope to when I get a chance i can draw more from the game yes!

He is silly in my mind at least, likely taking time to study the rogue fusions after a while to do something, though at some point he would help with making jellyton fertiliser functional [basically not poison, which i assume would limit it especially as it makes the jumpkins , i think??] to aid the community.

I hope one day I may get him a green jellyton as that would fit him greatly, but the chances are slim since I have ended up with moth and allseer collection instead-

If you have read all this, i do not know why but have a good day despite it! I will make more content for cassette beasts when I get a chance! hopefully anyways, there is so little out there it is making me want to try my hand at writing again. I must assist in making more! it deserves some recognition for sure :]

[self-loving-vampire]

I have been playing RPGs since before I learned English and have a little bit of insight on why some games have better quests than others.

But for today I will go over the obvious. You don't need that much experience to have heard about the tedium of "MMO-style" quests. The type that sends you off to gather 8 goretusk livers or kill 10 kobolds or whatever.

There are many issues with these quests. They are generic, overly gamey, frequently repetitive, and generally don't do all that much to excite the player or make them think.

In a lot of instances they don't really have much justification for you to do them besides a block of text that is both easily skipped and not actually important for completing the quest. You often don't even have a very strong reason to take one particular quest over another since the rewards are interchangeable and not overly important.

However, I would say that there are ways to make even technically generic quests like "collect X of Y" much, much more engaging.

As is often the case, Gothic 2 proves very instructive (and really I just shill it at every opportunity).

Early in the game, you will want to enter the city of Khorinis. However, with the recent fall of the barrier causing a mass escape from the nearby prison colony they are wary of letting people in.

There are multiple ways to do this, and some of them involve these generic quests, but the surrounding context heightens them and makes them feel actually important in a way interchangeable MMO quests simply aren't.

One of the ways in is to work at a nearby farm until you can afford to buy decent clothes and pass yourself off as a farmhand. This involves such things as collecting turnips for the farm owner and buying a frying pan for his wife from a nearby merchant (she will give you a free meal each day from that point on if you do this, which is extremely welcome during the difficult early game).

The fact that you are working towards an interesting goal with multiple possible solutions that you have to consider helps turn even mundane farm work into something more.

Another way in involves collecting a bundle of plants and tricking the guards into thinking you work for the city's alchemist by namedropping him and presenting the herbs.

To be able to do this you must get the alchemist's name from an NPC who is in a small hidden forest valley you may have stumbled into, which makes this method automatically more appealing since it feels slightly secret relative to other ways in, and it's not that much of a burden either since you may have been gathering those herbs for your own purposes anyway and don't lose them when you use this method.

Another example from the same game:

Early on, you may wish to start an apprenticeship inside the city, either to qualify to join the militia or simply to make money, which is very important early on. There are a handful of different masters you can study under. A blacksmith, a hunter, and an alchemist are taking apprentices, but you need the approval of all the masters before you are allowed to start working.

This means you'll be doing quests for all of them, and you might notice that the hunter's quest sounds a little bit generic: Gather 6 wolf pelts.

However, there are a number of things that make this more interesting.

First of all, the fact that you're not just grinding gold and experience but rather trying to get a specific job that will affect your training options and income for the entire rest of the game already means you'll be thinking about these quests and your own decision a bit more than you would with a generic quest to gather animal parts.

Besides this, there's the personalities involved. The master hunter is not just making you collect furs just because. He really wants you to sign on with him because his previous apprentice quit due to the woods becoming too dangerous lately, and he wants to both see what you can do and (if you want to sign up with another master) try to give you a taste of what working for him is like in hopes that you will change your mind.

This kind of justification both helps reinforce the sense of danger and desperation the game has been building up and grounds the quest in the larger world. You can actually go and find this guy's apprentice elsewhere in the city, and if you pay him and agree to accompany him he can even help you hunt the wolves you need (and even push a bit further towards other monstrous horrors that reinforce his idea that it's too dangerous out there).

So the quest's explanation actually included a vital clue on how to complete it more easily (finding the apprentice and teaming up, since early on even just a couple of wolves are too lethal for you) rather than just being empty fluff.

This is just an example, but it happens with several quests like this that paying attention and giving things some thought is rewarded.

There are other tricks you can use to make quests more interesting as well. For example: The quest turning out to be less straightforward than it seemed due to surprise complications on some of its steps, having multiple possible solutions for the quest, and having meaningful consequences beyond just gaining experience and standard valuables.

[mkhyemi]

hello hello hello! i'm kalo (21, she/her, est) and this is hyemi! she does NOT want to be here, but surely her time at lumera will shape her into a perfectly suitable magickai... right??? until then, she just has to be the disney channel movie character who somehow missed the chance to say "no mom... this isn't my dream, it's yours..." and follow her real passion. tbh, that hasn't even crossed her mind at all! so she's simply accommodating herself to what's expected of her and will continue to do so until she either learns to like it or she dissipates into the ocean or something... three cheers for repression! a more detailed delve-into hyemi can be found below the cut! it's been give or take 2 and a half years since i last did this whole rp thing, so please bear with me while i shake the rust off! (and while i finish up with my semester... lol) i'm very excited to write and have a fun time with you all! feel free to give this post a like and i'll pop into your ims as quick as possible for some plotting!

profile | bio | plots (empty links will be filled when finished ;;;)

hyemi is the youngest daughter of her family, her mother is an untrained magi (her companion died fairly early after her powers awoke), her father is a human, and her older sister is also a human.

her mother is essentially living vicariously through hyemi's becoming a magickai, to the point where she moved with hyemi from ulsan to seoul so she could enroll in the memoria of seoul. very pageant-mom vibes. hyemi loves her mom though and is very much reliant on her approval, which is what led her to her compliance re: enrolling at lumera and pursuing life as a magickai.

in reality, hyemi isn't too thrilled with the premise of being a magical soldier, no matter what fancy kind of name it's given. she's very envious of the more normal kind of life her older sister is living back home

her companion is a hedgehog named needles, who is a big pain in her ass and only adds to the pressure to get serious about her training. hearing feedback from someone who knows that all of her studying and training is essentially a front hurts a little more than she'd like to admit, especially considering it's coming from an animal that can fit in the palm of her hand. suffice to say, they don't get along very well.

regarding her powers, her control over them is very finicky, and is very easily swayed by her emotions. please anticipate finding her half-submurged into the ground or various walls. to counteract this somewhat, she tends to wear wetsuits or other swim-shirt adjacent items to help keep her in one piece, to middling results. at least it stops her clothes from getting wet? #styleicon. her minor power lets her turn whatever part of her that's water into ice, but she mainly just uses this to punch things a bit harder. she's admittedly no strategist.

her fighting style is very upfront. her powers aren't conducive towards offense on an especially grand scale, and fit more towards the role of a facetank, as her water form absorbs most forms of pain.

on that note, has been taking boxing and self-defense lessons since the awakening of her powers (she uses it as stress relief, but it has synergized with her up-close fighting style and the fact that her weapon is a pair of gauntlets)

maintains a very packed schedule both to distract herself from her general sense of dissatisfaction but also to exert some form of control over what she's doing at lumera (ie: her classes, her extracurricular lessons, hiking club, working at soap and suds, etc.) she's very particular about her schedule and about punctuality in general!

on a social level, hyemi is very much a people-pleaser, and thus takes great pains to not show off her frustrations with her current lifestyle. however, this leads her to be evasive and pretty resistant to forming substantial connections with people... whoops! she tends to shape her behavior to fit with other people and is definitely more of a follower-type than a leader-type. however, her temper is a bit of a ticking time bomb at this point (though, the fuse is pretty long!) so it probably will all blow up in her face eventually. hopefully it won't all land on the wrong target?

some quickfire connection/plot ideas!:

anyone who also attended the memoria of seoul! study buddies/academic rivals/etc.

you think her power (or rather, her lack of control over her power) is hilarious, and try to devise increasingly outlandish pranks/ways of catching her by surprise to watch her collapse into a puddle. (whether this is friendly or antagonistic is up to interpretation!)

someone to help her work through her newly-developed fear of large bodies of water

bad(?) influence: or otherwise someone who wants to break her from her rigid routine-based way of living

she's a caffeine fiend, so if your muse either works at or also habitually visits the coffee shop, they could hang out there?

sparring partners / work out buddies

[quirkwizard]

Hi! I asked you to create a Quirk involving some mythological creature, which in this case you made a Griffin. I'm here again to make another unusual request. Could you make a Quirk based on a profession that you really like? I've been thinking about how the world of MHA must have changed for ordinary people, so I'm thinking of creating an OC based on the idea that he has a very useful Quirk for his profession and can be used to defend himself. Hope you have a little fun creating this Quirk :)

Since I can't think of any jobs that I would love, at least ones that would work as Quirks, I decided to do jobs in general. Which was difficult since I had a lot of Quirks that cover a lot of potential occupations. There was a few I considered, like teacher, historian, and even architect, but I decided on fashion designer. Partly because I liked the idea and partly because a job like that would be pretty interesting with all the hero costumes and mutations. I'm still open for making those other ones if any of you are interested.

I see it working as an Emitter type Quirk that allows the user to create various materials made for clothing and then fashion them into clothing. This is a quick process, such as the user making a shirt in a matter of seconds, and can cover a variety of materials, everything from cotton to nylon to leather. The materials made by the user are notably better than their average counterparts, such as highly insulated materials that grant the target protection from electricity. The user can apply the clothes to themselves if they wish and fashion them around another person who is close to them. This gives the user a good mix of options, letting them fashion all sorts of unique outfits to match whatever situation they need to. They can tie their foes up in the fabrics, quickly form armor around themselves, make costumes that perfectly fit their allies, counteract certain Quirks with the right materials, or simply dazzle everyone around them with their amazing style. Though their ability to create clothing is heavily dependent on their ability to care for themselves, needing plenty of sleep and a balanced diet to produce and create the materials. The Quirk will require some studying to work, both for designing clothing and of the target to maximize its effectiveness. Anything that user makes can still be broken and will need to be repaired by them. A possible name for the Quirk could be "Fashion".

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

'How can a sane society permit the medicalisation of children who don't fit gender stereotypes?' - Andrew Doyle

Making predictions is always a mug's game but I think I'll give it a shot.

So, I have a strong suspicion that historians of the future will look back at our current period of time in utter bewilderment. How is it, they will say, that a supposedly sane society permitted the medicalization of children who did not conform to gender stereotypes? How is it that figures in authority in the political class and the medical establishment thought it was a good idea to encourage the use of puberty blockers, which almost always lead to the taking of cross-sex hormones, and sometimes irreversible surgery for kids too young to possibly consent to such interventions?

None of this makes sense.

But there are some signs that the tide is turning. So this week, the NHS confirmed that children suffering from gender dysphoria will no longer be put on puberty blockers in the two new clinics being set up to replace the Tavistock pediatric clinic, which will be closing soon, following the report by Dr Hillary Cass which revealed that it was unsafe for children. The NHS has noted the the ominous exception of "clinical tests" which might end up being a loophole. The draft policy still uses language such as "gender affirming," so we probably still have a long way to go. We're going to have to wait to see what happens. But this is definitely a promising development

Things aren't looking so positive in Wales and Scotland where the governments have seemingly been entirely captured by gender identity activism. And the same is true of the US and Canada.

But gradually, reason will prevail. For one thing, the Tavistock is going to close, although that closure does seem to keep being postponed. And one of the reasons why it was considered unsafe was the use of puberty blockers. The Cass review confirmed that there was simply not enough research into the long-term impact of these treatments.

And one would have thought when it comes to doling out drugs to kids, we might want to be sure that we're not putting them in danger.

In fact, studies show that in the vast majority of cases feelings of gender dysphoria in youth are resolved through puberty, so by blocking puberty, you are blocking the remedy. Whose bright idea was that?

And even in those cases where the feelings persist, surely we can all agree that children aren't best placed to make life-changing decisions about their own bodies. And this has all happened very quickly, mostly because discussion on these issues has been stifled. Only today, Dr Ahmad Malik has tweeted out a thread confirming that he is being investigated by the General Medical Council for expressing concerns that there has been an alarming increase in cases of child gender dysphoria and surgery.

But why should this lead to an investigation? Dr Malik is simply asking some legitimate questions. And it's bizarre that a health professional raising the alarm should be treated as some kind of heretic who needs to be silenced.

All of this can be explained with one word: ideology.

I've spoken before about how a small but powerful elite in the western world have succumbed to a kind of hysteria, particularly around the notion of gender identity. The conflation of LGB with TQIA+ has confused a lot of people, because of course, sexual orientation has got nothing to do with gender. And as I argued on the show last week, gender identity ideology promotes anti-gay rhetoric and anti-gay concepts in order to sustain itself.

If you want to understand how self-styled progressives have got it so wrong, consider this example. In 2020, Pink News released the following report on Pakistan.

"Lastly, in a historic move, transgender people in Pakistan will finally get access to free healthcare. The government plans will also include covering all transition-related costs. Pakistan just said 'trans rights!'"

Of course there was a reason why the government of Pakistan was offering to support transitional surgery. It's the same reason the government of Iran does. Because homosexuality is illegal, and there is a widespread belief that it can be corrected through sex reassignments.

So Pakistan, which by the way has since struck down all legal protections for trans people - it wasn't supporting trans rights at all. It was attacking gay people.

The Pink News couldn't see that, because the impact of ideology is that it blinds you to reason and stifles critical thought. And that's why activists continually misinterpret regressive ideas as though they were progressive.

We know that between 80 and 90% of adolescents who were referred to the Tavistock were same-sex attracted. So they were effectively correcting gay kids. The theocrats of Iran and Pakistan would be proud.

And even for those kids who weren't same-sex attracted, surely there needed to be more discussion. Surely we should be telling young people that there is no one way to be a boy or a girl. That being a tomboy doesn't make you less female, and playing with dolls doesn't make you any less male. And certainly being gay doesn't mean you're trapped in the wrong body.

But in recent years, we've been avoiding those conversations, and as a result, we've been regressing. This latest statement from the NHS is a step in the right direction. Admittedly, it's only a small step, and what feels like an impossible journey.

But if I'm right, the historians of the future will be baffled that we ever allowed ourselves to stray from the path of reason in the first place.

==

Congratulations, I guess, on not giving kids endocrine disorders for being gay.

This is where we're at.

[butterfly-winx]

Hi!!! I'm another anon also working in my self insert for you au!!! Could you give me more info for the witch/er classes; Bloodwitch*er (is this the healer one?), Potionmaster, Conjurer, Summoner, Spellcrafter, Cursebreaker (??), Medium (undead magic could be here or in bloodwitcher, maybe Darkar??), Mindwalker/Dreamwalker, Artisan (like Artificer in D&D?). What about transmutation or nature (or that is covered by other fields)???

Hi, I'm sorry this took literal ages to respond to and hope you are still having fun crafting self inserts >.<

Witch*ers can be categorised in two ways: either by the price they predominantly use to fuel their magic, or by historical profession. Some of these categories overlap, let me get into some details below.

Price based categories

I have mentioned many times that witchcraft is a pay-as-you-use style of magic and each spell has an established price for which the Flow will actually execute it.

Most written witchcraft spells have a set price, a pre-defined method of payment that guarantees best result - or so many generations a witch has found it and why it has been immortalisied in a spellbook.

These are general spells that anyone with talent in magic can perform, even people who haven’t intensively studies magic. There are also high level spells with fixed prices written in spellbooks held by covens and passed on to their descendants. For these you need to be proficient in witchcraft (and be close enough to that coven to be entrusted with the tome).

Then the other class is the aspect innate magic that the witch*er makes up for themselves. Usually these are specific spells, trades that the witchcraft user negotiated with the Flow themselves. Here the witchcraft users preferred method of payment comes to shine and often defines the strength of their spells. The same outcome can be evoked by five medium level payment spells as one large one, but tell me which one is going to look more impressive?

A witch*er can of course also choose to pay with their preferred method for a generic spell, but why bother doing the maths when you can just rely on what is set out before you? It can be practical though, if the general price object is not around.

Here is an incomplete list (bc I always come up with more):

Bloodwitch: blood

Kinaestesiochore: movements, before or during casting of spell

Psychoplast: memories/ knowledge

Bonesmith/Necromancer: cultural difference in name, some bonesmiths truly only use bone; in some cultures Necromancer means they do raise the dead and is not considered a payment type

Spirit witch: spirits of living things

Chronopractician: time, steal others time or simply use up time by preparing spell

Heartbender: emotions

Mineralwitch: minerals

Herbetic: herbs and plant matter

Energy witch: any form of energy eg heat

Decomposers/Vulture/Materialophage: cultural difference in naming, decaying matter

Nocipion: pain, emotional or physical

Dragon: anything in value emotional or physical, usually used by witch*ers in service of others

With that in mind, certain Price-Aspect connections just don't make sense. Griffin is the Bloodwitch of Seismology:she pays for all her spells with blood and innately can affect seismic movements. Shilly, who is the Witch of Blood in my AU however would never become a Bloodwitch (not just because Griffin wouldn't teach her). Her Aspect influences blood, how stupid would it be to use it up as a resource for her spell, when that is the exact object of her innate magic? No, she focuses on potionology, which is a different expression style,

As another example for non-spellcasters, Lucy is also focused on potion based magic, in which she prepares tinctures to deliver enchantments, blessings&curses 1, remedies&maladies. SHe uses them for most of her general spells, however when interacting with insects, as per her Aspect, she gets by with what most people with an animal Aspect do, called Law of Good Husbandry. It just means they respond to her because she is nice to them and gives them food.

[1 Footnote: "spells" are magic with short term effect, "enchantments" are magic performed to alter characteristics of an object; and "blessings&curses" are the same, magic with a long-term effect, divided whether the afflicted gains a benefit or suffers from the effects of it]

-----

The second option is to be defined by what trade the witch*er practices, which can be much more simples, since most people practice a combination of any of the above techniques.

Oracle: predict future

Medium: interact with ghosts and spirits

Psychonaut: interact with brain of person, really in-depth neurologist essentially

Artificer: creates objects with magical charge/effect

Medicine woman? (ok listen I have no idea what the medieval profession of "old woman sells me st johns wort is called in english, but basically that)

Freelancer: they roam the lands and you can contract them to conjure a calamity to morally educate your people

Fabricator: creates material

Spellcaster: make spell or uses mainly spell

Potionmaster/Chemist: potions, again cultural difference

Several of these classes aren't even exclusive to witchcraft: anyone with magic sensitivity can perform them (most Oracles aren't even formally trained for example), just many are usually performed by witchcraft users and as such associated with them.

---

And as my final magnum opus: what everyone's combo is within butterfly AU:

Icy: Kinaesthesiochore of Ice (it's always a combo of movement and time with her)

Stormy: Bonesmith of Storms (using bones is her way of honouring her heritage, but she also does a great deal of kinaesthesis)

Darcy: Dragon of "Darkness" (it is waterpane divination, but darkness sounds edgier; she also uses spirits, psychic prices and pain regularly)

Griffin: Bloodwitch of Seismology

Shilly: Chemist of Blood

Lucy: Potionmaster of Insects

Mirta: Mineralwitch of Emotional Illusions (before switching, she didn't officially adopt this, but was mostly using rocks and crystals)

Helia: Artificer of Fine Dexterity Arts

Bloom: Energy witch of Emotions

Valtor: Bloodwitcher of the Dragon's Last Ember

Belladona: ??? of ???

Lyssis: ??? of ???

Tharma: ??? of ???

Selena: Herbetic of History, tho she is a historian by profession as well so...

Duman: Psychoplast of Animal Transmodification

Anagan: Kinaesthesiochore of Speed (in his case the double thing works out, he moves to be fast makes sense right?)

Gantlos: Spellcaster of Decomposition

Ogron: Nocipion of Energy Manipulation (nasty sadist)

Luna: Energy witch of Reflected Cosmic Light

Bittersmoke: Potionmaster of Eidetic Memory

Ediltrude: Mineralwitch of Astrology

Zarahustra: Mineralwitch of Religion (not every, just a subset)

Krystal: Herbetic of Healing

[in-my-feels-probably]

Hiii congrats on 1.5k! ♡♡♡

I'm requesting for an option one:

✨so to participate for this one, all you have to do is give me a character from a fandom and why you picked them, and any information about yourself you want to give me, and i’ll write you a blurb and tell you why i think your chosen character would like you.✨

And I'm choosing James Potter simply bc his characterization on both fanon and canon is interesting in general. I love his sunshine personality, the sheer arrogantconfident attitude and the love and adoration he has for his friends (the man became an animagus for his bsf and died for his wife and child ffs),, and honestly the description "it was james who had an ego the size of a lake but a heart to match it" that sold it to me. I also kinda have a thing for cute confident guys in glasses and messy curls maybe but let's ignore that

About me,, so I consider myself a stem girly (studied bio and I'm working in a lab atm), I'm sorta a black cat person, an introvert, and I have this tendency of keeping to myself most times, I'm consider the weird, chubby, quiet art kid bc i love arts (like doodling and sketching) and I also like singing along to songs when I'm working on things,,, I had like a phase where I kept changing hair colors monthly and my current style is a bit modernized vintage 70s outfits and casual corporate wear bc sometimes I like exuding the energy of a strong independent woman who can do great things bc I consider myself as one!!

I think that's all for me,, thanks so much and congrats again!! ♡

hi!

thanks for participating :)

(first of all, that’s one of my favorite quotes from atyd omg)

i think james would be drawn to you just because you’re a lot different than he is. he’d find you fascinating, and he’d make it a point to get to know you. he’s a very social and easygoing person, and i don’t think he does very well on his own. one of his main love languages is definitely quality time. but while i think he’s a social person, i do think he also gets a little burnt out. everyone relies on him to be the positive one, and it would be hard on him always being that person for everyone else when no one would be it for him. with you, he’d never feel like he had to put on a front. you’d be easy to calmly talk to and open up to, and he wouldn’t feel like he needed to entertain you or keep the conversation going. you’d be content to have a quiet day with him if he wanted one, and he would never say no to getting to spend time with you.

he would find your interest in art really endearing. whether that be in the way you expressed yourself through clothes, the songs he’d catch you singing to yourself, or your sketches you’d show him. james is a very talented person, but i don’t think he’s a very artistic person. so he’d think it was really cool that you were, and he’d always be up for hearing about it. he’d also think your interest in science is cool. he’s smart in a certain sense and gets passable grades, but being a top performing student isn’t really that high on his list of priorities. your education being important to you would show him that you’re really driven and hardworking, and he’d be really proud of all the effort you put into things.

—

he’d also definitely pick you as his partner in potions because of your skill in the lab.

he’d watch over your shoulder as you mixed ingredients into the cauldron, slightly bewildered at how nonchalantly you were reading through your textbook and brewing the potion with ease. every once in a while you’d look up and ask him to help you, or you’d explain what you were doing as you worked.

sirius would gripe from the adjacent table where he was sitting on his stool, in a temporary timeout from remus because he’d somehow already managed to fuck up their potion.

“it’s no fair! how come you get the good partner and im stuck with moony? he won’t even let me touch the cauldron.”

you’d chuckle, continuing to read through the instructions. “i wouldn’t either. i’m barely letting james help.”

“hey!” james would say, feigning offense as he threw an arm around your shoulder. “i’ll have you know i’m very helpful. one of us has to carry the ingredients all the way over from the shelf and back. what would my mum say if i let you do all the heavy lifting?”

“yes, how very chivalrous of you,” you’d tease, leaning into his side.

he’s grin down at you, passing you another jar of ingredients as he read the textbook over your shoulder. “i know. that’s just the kind of guy i am. i’m all about teamwork, love. a joint effort and all that.”

“sure you are, potter.”

you’d playfully roll your eyes, taking the jar from his hand. he’d continue watching in silence as you worked, resting his chin on your shoulder.

—

thanks again for participating! sorry this is a little short, i hope you enjoyed it :)

[gonelike-ach00]

Chapter 4

chaebol! Kim Doyoung x chaebol! Original Female Character

Word count: 2,021

Summary: What truly goes on behind the lights, the stages and the performances? Kim Doyoung has lived his idol life quietly, getting ample exposure and being in a popular group. He was now fully independent and plans to continue his life in this direction.

Yet all things are easier said than done. Once his old life begins to creep up to him it was getting harder to escape and runaway. What does this humble and scandal free idol truly hide?

Genre: fluff, angst, arranged marriage, drama

Warning(s): eventual smut, violence, trauma, guns, blood

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There was no space to grieve.

If the weight of the world were to be measured, it would be added upon Doyoung’s own body weight. The moment he woke up the following day after leaving his father’s remains in its final resting place, he had been running around the house. He was wearing old clothes, obviously outdated from his high school days, yet it was what was available. He hasn’t stepped foot inside his dormitory since the whole incident with Jinah, nor has he faced his label, managers and other staff. They probably were wondering where he had disappeared off to for the week. 

“Secretary Kim,” Doyoung calls out the secretary as he sat down in his father’s study checking on the details of the board that his father did not finish, “where is the data for Director Go’s department?” Hoping his father’s long time secretary would know where the data was. 

“It has yet to be submitted.” 

Doyoung could simply sigh, who was to blame when his father set the deadline on the day he passed away. He simply runs his hand through his unkempt hair, “can I have his contact info?” In almost an instant, the secretary opens his phone and sends him the director’s details. 

Just as he was about to give Director Go a call, a face that he has never met in person, or as he recalls never met at all, the door to the study opens. Unlike how it was when his father’s viewing was in process, his cousin and the vice president of Byul group of companies, walks through the door in a pressed gray suit and cleanly styled hair. “What are you doing this early and on a weekend?” 

“I have to finish the reports to present to a few investors and clients next week, some of them are seeking partnership from us for the past few days we were gone. A lot of them are foreign expenditures, I can’t waste the--” 

“And why are you handling all this on your own?” Youngbin immediately stands right beside him. “Is this on Uncle Kijoon’s report?” He refers to the director as their uncle, as they were a cousin to their parents, as he glances down at the monitor on the desk.

“He was on a meeting with a client abroad, the company he manages has been huge on international expenditure.” Youngbin sighs and reports to him directly. “Your father gave him a go signal to submit his report late.” 

Doyoung nods his head and leans back. “I guess with all the various notification sounds popping out of my father’s computer, I couldn’t ignore the responsibility that I’m about to take over.” He honestly replies as he closes his eyes. 

For more than a century, the Byul company has proven its worth by remaining as one of the biggest economical contributors to the country. Even when faced with calamities, wars and economic collapses, they stood strong. Some attribute this to the rigid process of creating their company leaders. The Kim family who owns Byul were known to teach possible presidents and chairs the moment they are able to walk and talk, and only those who were taught were considered to sit in the position. With the current generation, there were only two who can take charge and lead the company, yet a few years ago after the birth of his first child, Youngbin renounced all rights to be elected into position. 

This left Doyoung the only eligible heir to the Byul throne. 

Doyoung knew why Youngbin retreated from the position, it wasn’t safe for his family to be involved in politics of the upper elites. He knew that the moment he chose to run for position, Doyoung’s parents and his mother would go at odds with one another even if they were siblings. Youngbin knew all too well that this was a war on greed for power, yet he cannot be selfish enough to drag his still young children into such a world just as they were able to open their eyes. 

“You,” Youngbin pulls Doyoung out of Dongmin’s chair, “should,” he pauses to finally take a look at what his younger cousin was wearing, “really go get some clothes.” 

“I’ll just get them from the dorms,” Doyoung tries to shrug him off. “I have to eventually move out of there anyway.” 

“You should go buy some clothes instead!” Youngbin pushes him further out of the office. “You look like you rummaged through all your old clothes and forced yourself to fit into them.” He teases.

“You know full well that’s exactly what I did.” Doyoung was about to be pushed out the door of the house when they heard the front door opening. 

While Youngbin was pulling him out of the house, the door swung open. Doyoung was then meeting Jinah in the eye while being headlocked by his cousin. “I should return later, shouldn’t I?” Jinah was about to turn around, putting the keys she had in her hands straight into her pocket.

“Jinah!” She gets stopped by Youngbin who called out her voice in such a tone that made Doyoung sure his mother could hear what was going on outside the master’s bedroom. That nearly sat at the opposite side of their ancestral mansion.

Once she peeks her head back into the house, Youngbin immediately pushed Doyoung towards him. In fact if she wasn’t ready to catch a falling Doyoung he would have skidded on the sparkling marble floor they were all standing on top of.

“Take him out to buy some clothes.” Youngbin claps his hands together as if he took out the trash.

“I can just pick up--”

“Yada! Yada!” Youngbin makes his hands talk, stopping Doyoung from speaking any further. “If I don’t see a new set of clothes when I come visit again, I’ll make sure everyone knows of your deepest darkest secret.”

“That is?” Doyoung jumps off of Jinah as if she were a plague.

“That until you still peed on the bed until you were thirteen.” 

Jinah snickers behind him. 

Doyoung glares at Youngbin and Jinah. 

Honestly, at this point there was no use in shielding things from Jinah when it comes to all family secrets about him. She knew the smallest of detail, both from his parents and this cousin of his, both tend to overshare a little bit. 

“Then,” Youngbin puts his hands on both Jinah and Doyoung’s shoulders before guiding them through the long hallway out of the mansion they were in.

“Are you making me leave in these?” Doyoung looks down at his clothes once they were standing outside the main house. 

“You’re going to buy clothes anyway.” Youngbin waves his hand once again before closing the door on their faces.

Doyoung grunts before running a hand through his unkempt hair. “Seriously.” 

“Well,” Jinah lifts her car keys, “if you don’t have anything else to do might as well just do as he says you know.” 

Doyoung raises an eyebrow at her. 

“What is it this time?” Gone immediately was the kind expression on Jinah’s face.

“Did you guys plan this?” 

She takes a deep breath in and crosses her arms over her chest and then glares at him. “Is it because I walked through your door right when he was forcing you out of the office?”

Doyoung nods his head slowly. 

“Just so you know, your mother was the one who called me because she wanted to have breakfast with me.” Jinah puts her car keys back into her pocket just to pull out her phone and show Doyoung the text she got from his mother.

“Well, if she wanted to have breakfast she should’ve told me.” After checking the text and confirming that what she said was true he stands upright mimicking her arms crossed over her chest.

“I think you should tell your mother that.” 

Then they go quiet. 

“Should we go then?” It was clear with her tired tone that Jinah wasn’t looking forward to going to the mall with him to get him clothes, because it was Doyoung. She knew Doyoung just as his family knew him, and he was quite popular among the aunts and cousin for being a picky dresser.

Doyoung doesn’t even respond as he walks up to the only car sitting at the entrance of their house. Most of the cars they owned won’t usually sit on the curb, they would settle in the garage, so it was easy to tell that the car was hers. 

It was a different car from the one they used to drive to the hospital that day.

“Now that I think of it, I never saw you drive.” That was the first thing Doyoung told Jinah as soon as they were seated.

“Relax, my brother has always told me I’m a much better driver than him.” She starts the car.

Doyoung’s eyes grew wide. If anyone knew Minki the first thing that they would think of aside from his affluent family is his inability to drive a vehicle. It wasn’t like he never took lessons or he never passed the exam, he was just extremely… reckless when it came to driving. 

“Oh no.”

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[studiesinconnoisseurship]

Rogier and Campin: Mistaken Identities

Connoisseurship, by its nature, will often involve mistaken identity, work by one artist being taken for that of another. This Study looks at a case that can be illustrated by work attributable to two famous fifteenth centruy artists, Rogier van der Weyden and Robert Campin, within one collection, that of the London National Gallery, and the relation of these pictures to others elsewhere.

When juxtaposed, it is easy to see the similarities between faces in Rogier's Altarpiece at Beaune and portraits in the National Gallery, attributed to Campin. Such a degree of likeness makes it hard to see how there could be disagreement that they were all painted by the same hand. Stylistically, everything corresponds, even the craquelure

In the above juxtaposition, the left-hand face of each pair is a face out of the Beaune Altarpiece, the Last Judgment, still at Beaune in Burgundy, that everyone seems agreed is the work of Rogier van der Weyden. The right-hand face of each pair is of the Man and Woman, respectively, portrayed in two separate panels at the London National Gallery where they are ascribed, not to Rogier, but to Robert Campin. The two artists were famous in their day for the outstanding quality of their work, and they both presided over large workshops.

The Altarpiece at the Hotel-Dieu, Beaune. Open, it shows The Last Judgement

Closed, the polyptych shows the donors kneeling before statues of saints

Here is another Portrait of a Man that can also be seen at the National Gallery. It is the portrait of a known person, Alexander Mornauer.

Portrait of Alexander Mornauer, attributed to "the Master of the Mornauer portrait", National Gallery, London

The Mornauer portrait before cleaning, showing a 'Holbein blue background, and reworking of the hat

He was given a plain blue ‘Holbein’ background that has been removed, as being a later addition, to reveal one that is of much more interesting texture and of a sort of puce colour. The painter of this picture is simply called ‘The Master of the Mornauer Portrait’, thought to be from ‘South Germany’.

If we now place this Mornauer portrait between two other images, the Portrait of a Stout Man from the Thyssen Collection in Madrid (ascribed to Robert Campin) and the two onlookers beside the Bad Thief to the Left of Christ from the panel at Frankfurt (Staedel Institut), generally considered a work by Campin, do we not see similarities, in this second case, nearly as compelling as the very different similarities in the first?

Left to Right: The Mornauer Portrait; Portrait of a Stout Man, attrib. Campin, Museo Thyssen, Madrid; detail and full image of The Bad Thief to the Left of Christ, attrib. Campin, Staedel Museum, Frankfurt

The Mornauer portrait clearly predates both the Thyssen Head of a Man and the Frankfurt Crucifixion, which one takes to be late work by the artist; that said, we can see an earlier manifestation of the same extraordinarily bold facial modelling, the same eyes and eyebrows, the same fine brushwork in the brown hair and the hairs of fur, and, in the detail of the two onlookers to the Crucifixion, very similar and distinctive hands displaying all their veins and joint-creases.

Much work remains to be done on the oeuvres of two men who were clearly the stars of the generation after the Van Eycks, but what these comparisons already suggest is that their styles are very distinct from each other. It appears that two portraits have got linked with Robert Campin when they are much more likely to be by Rogier van der Weyden, and a fine work by Campin in the same Gallery has gone unrecognised, relegated to ‘South Germany’. There is evidence here of the muddle that surrounds these two names.

I do not believe that we have many works anywhere by Robert Campin, but what there is strikes me as of remarkably high quality. His hyper-realism may not appeal to all tastes today, but it belongs to its time and makes a superlative link between Jan van Eyck and Dürer in the tradition that leads on to Holbein, and eventually Ingres. Of work by Rogier van der Weyden we have more, including two masterpieces, the Beaune Altarpiece and the Madrid Deposition, but his work likewise has to be distinguished from that of numerous artists of his time, mostly of lesser talent, who spent their careers in workshops such as those headed by himself and Campin.

Left to RIght: The Mornauer Portrait; Portrait of a Man, attributed to the same artist, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin; in BW; Reflectogram of the Mornauer Portrait, revealing the same style of folds in the clothing and vein details in the hands

I wish to draw attention at this point to two drawings. The first is a portrait of a man of middle age with black curly hair, wearing a hat and holding his hands together with the two thumbs abutted. This remarkable image is held at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin and attributed to the same hand as the Mornauer. The penmanship in the modelling of the man’s shirt is superlative and the vividness of his presence is all the greater for the addition of watercolour to his face, neck and hands.

The connection, as I see it, with Campin is made by a very helpful infrared reflectogram of the Mornauer portrait in a publication (2010) by the National Gallery, entitled A Closer Look: Deceptions and Discoveries. The underdrawing of that painting is so close to the treatment of the folds in the sleeves of the shirt in the drawing that I think it very likely that they are by the same artist. Note the veins in the hands of both painting and drawing; Dürer could not have observed them better.

Left: 'Le Christ Bénissant', attrib. Toussaint Dubreuil, the Louvre; Right from Top: Detail from Campin's Throne of Mercy; Detail from Campin's Bad Thief; Detail from Campin's Madonna by a Firescreen, National Gallery, London

The second drawing - an image at the Louvre entitled Christ Blessing - I also think is by Campin, though probably from a different period of his career. Here the penmanship is bolder and looser than in the drawing just mentioned, but the dense cross-hatching and other mark-making is very similar. Below are some juxtapositions that help to link this drawing with the Mornauer portrait and other Campins in the treatment of facial features, hands and hair-curls.

Left to Right: Faces of Mornauer; Christ; the Stout Man

Hair and fingers from the Bad Thief (left) and Christ Bénissant (right)

Hand details: VIrgin and Child, Campin (top); Saint Veronica, Campin (left) both Staedl Museum, Frankfurt; The Mornauer (middle); The Bad Thief (bottom)

That two paintings by Rogier van der Weyden can be taken for work by Campin when the two artists are so completely different is concerning. The focus of the present Study has been limited to three paintings in the London National Gallery, the stylistic connection of two of them, the paired portraits of A Man and A Woman, with Rogier’s Beaune Altarpiece, and a third, the Mornauer Portrait, with Crucifixion and other panels at Frankfurt. On the evidence even of these few works we can see Campin as a master capable of projecting a very powerful image with hyper-realistic attention to texture and fine detail. The Rogier portraits are realistic too, but less forceful and arguably more sympathetic depictions of individuals with faces easily associated as those of husband and wife.

Clearly there is scope for a wider discussion of the oeuvres of these two very important painters. I hope a future Study can attempt to address that much more complex issue

[essayofthoughts]

🌠🎈💝

For the ask game :D

✨What’s a fic you’ve posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

Uhhh. Keeping it to Critical Role only (because I think I've gone on at length about my opinions on my favourite of my other fics) I think probably even his worst for the main question and Ride A Rearing Dragon for the parenthesis.

even his worst is a close-focus Percy character study set basically right after the Feast and Crimson Diplomacy and is meant to act as in insight into his headspace then. It's one of the first fics I ever wrote for this fandom and I'm so so pleased with some of my phrasing and similes in it - but it's not Perc'ahlia so it tends to get ignored.

I really don't like the way fandom prioritises ship content over all other kinds of fic.

The other fic, Ride A Rearing Dragon is about Vanessa Cyndrial and a little about Osysa and with a mention of Murtin. Because of the phenomenal job Mercer does with all of the NPCs, they all get to feel as real as the player characters, and while everyone knows that for the more prominent faves like Gilmore and Allura, Victor and Kynan - it's true for all of them, Desmond, Samson... and those we see of the Slayer's Take. I wanted to explore that, and to wonder how exactly leadership of an Iounian monster-hunting organisation might be passed on.

����describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

I would personally describe my style as a writer as veering between character study and what if with a tendency to get wordy and deep in the weeds and a persistent liking for stories of traumatised characters. There's a lot of like... surface? shifting of style? in how I write, because I default to third-person focalised storytelling, which means I'm telling it from damn near close to inside a character's head and so the narration will take on aspects of their personalities. As you especially can verify - when I'm not writing Percy, I can get much less wordy write in a much more relaxed, casual way, while when I'm writing Percy...

Boy is wordy.

But the thing is, I don't consider that to be a real style change - the underlying style using third-person focalised and digging into how they express themselves in that narration as characterisation is all still there. The difference is the character and how they express themselves.

If that makes sense. Maybe I'm just rambling.

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Basically all of my The Touch That Grounds fics? They're fluff! They're largely substanceless! But people seem to have really liked them and commented on them more than I'd thought. I did put in some character study stuff, to act as lead-in and lead-up to the prompted touches, and people seem to have been thrilled with them but I don't personally consider those notes very special - I've put much the same character study notes on my blog in metas and analysis and in my other, longer fics.

But I guess because those are meta posts on tumblr and the other fics are longer and angstier people find these things being noted in fluff fics revelatory? I dunno.

I just. I like my angst, and I like some genuine tragedy to things, and I like a good exploration of trauma. I don't really understand what people find so fulfilling in fluff so much. I know there's something, or else it wouldn't be so popular, and I like it fine, when I'm in a mood for something light like that, but... I generally prefer something denser that I can sink my teeth into. I don't get why people get so thrilled over fluff.

So when my fluff things do well it's always gonna baffle me a bit because to me, I've expressed and elaborated on these thoughts before, better in other fics and it surprises me to see the idea get suddenly latched onto when I sketch it out briefly in a tiny fluffy oneshot.

Maybe it just puts a better spotlight on it? I dunno.

[womenfrommars]

You're like the most reasonable, level-headed person on radblr why do people get so angry at you?

Precisely for that reason lol. When you're terminally online and start to believe in nonsensical ideological beliefs, you start to resent people who argue against it. The whole idea of seperatism still baffles me. It's supposed to be a political strategy to end the patriarchy but it is treated more like a life style. It is never explained how the strategy would work and even the life style sounds like a bad coping mechanism for trauma to me personally. And then there's the whole contradiction where lesbians don't sleep with trans women but when they face "comphet" they do consent to sex with men? How does that work? And more recently people lost their shit because I pointed out not every reason for abortion is necessarily a good one, even if we go by radical feminist standards. I also don't understand why people think taking a morning after pill is somehow the same as aborting a fetus at 8 months. At that point it could survive outside of the mother's body so you can give birth and no longer have the fetus imposing on your bodily autonomy. There's also this weird resentment towards any woman who persues a relationship with a man (especially if she is bisexual) but then they pretend this never happens and pull out this justice for Amber Heard stick? The more time you spend on radblr the more you will come to see the contradictions.

I also do not buy that the atmosphere on here is solely dictated by radical feminist literature. The idea of fatphobia is part of mainstream liberal feminism. The idea of Islamophobia is just general progressive thinking as well. Find me one radical feminist piece of literature that talks about these problems the way radfems on Tumblr do. I wish people were more open to the idea that what passes as radical feminism today is not the same as radical feminism as it was in the 1970s and that's okay. We live in a different age and we face different issues as a result, and we might put focus on different issues as well

Radical feminist writings are also not... Gospel, let's say. Dworkin wrote about the European witch trials using research now considered outdated. The things she wrote about intersex people are likewise outdated. Apparantly she also defended beastiality and incest when she wrote a book while on drugs. Adrienne Rich coined the phrase "compulsory heterosexuality" but the current Internet definition is just a butchered liberalised version of her initial meaning. She even wrote a follow up essay saying she meant to explore ideas rather than write a strict framework or whatever. And as much as radfems like to deny it, political lesbianism was invented to combat compulsory heterosexuality, so it is part of radical feminism historically speaking. Radfems on here praise seperatism but then almost worship Dworkin, who married a man herself... It's okay to think critically even when reading old feminist literature. You don't have to agree with everything you read because you want to fit into an online clique. The idea of innate sexual orientations (a cornerstone for those of us who hate TRA logic) is not really found in any radical feminist literature from back then simply because it is a very recent idea that most people back then did not believe in. The body of scientific literature in regards to sexual orientation is still developing. People clowned on Michael Bailey because he did a study on male bisexuality to more or less confirm it exists but these people fail to realise there isn't an awful lot of recent research into that, so we do have a need for these studies. Especially considering that older research tends to distinguish between sexual orientation in fantasy and in practice (meaning your sexual fantasies versus your sexual history/practice)

[darlingpwease]

Yes, Teacher??? /t /why must u bully me 😔😔

Oh shit– I guess they really don't like swan lake then lmao Thank you for bringing it here to tumblr,, it wasn't only cool to learn but also just really interesting too!! :DD /gen

Yes yes,, thank you for teaching information, Dove <33 I'm looking forward for the next one!! /ht /hgen /I do think it's cool when u do that tho

Ahhh okok,,, then make sure to rest well. I can only imagine how nerve-wracking that must've been. I can't really do anything, but I really do hope that everything's good now and that you and others are feeling better now.

Yeah,, where I am tensions are rising with both the government and it's citizens, it's like there's no middle ground abdhdks. I'm just hoping that it will stay somewhat calm until I'm able to leave lmao,, it just seems like there's not much rest for anyone recently ha ha... I can't imagine life like that tho, it sounds exhausting.. (not meant in any offense) however, I can definitely relate to some things losing their points of "joking" tho,,,, its... it's not enjoyable <//33

Uwwhhh thank you,, unfortunately I'm still gonna fluctuate like this for the next 2-ish weeks I'm so sorry I'm so sorry <//3333 I'll also reply to the other post when I can I promise aaahdbskd

-panna cotta

hehe, good pamna, good~ mwah♡ as they said in one highly social advertisement about how relatives bully children with their 'attempts' to help them, "bullying begins at home"<3333 /t /j /nsrs

you know, but not even everyone in the country knows about such a feature with the term "swan ballet", especially among young people, since they simply did not find that time and none of the adults told them how this ballet was played immediately after the coup - also, it is associated with the death of the general secretary of the CPSU, so as on the day of his mourning, only this ballet was played on TV. I do not know if you have watched it, but it is a very calm and even quiet, serene ballet, completely unrelated to politics, but now it is quite politicized due to the connection with the August coup and the "purge". you look at him,,, what a charmer<33333 /affectionate

yaau~ then next time I'll tell you something more exciting, considering that events are getting more and more tense and bad ☆〜（ゝ。∂）/ht /ht /pos

I mean, unlike almost all the people in my environment, I don't even take pills yet, so I'm still very fine<333 after all, I can still be joyful even without antidepressants, so!!! a very sanguine person!!! hold my malewives tight!!!

the same, babyboo<///3 I only hope that something will happen when the elite dies out, because I don't see any other ways to solve the current socio-political problems. at least let them not close all borders and there will be at least some way to leave, and then everything will be fine. sometimes they say that it will only get worse in other countries, but I will be glad if I don't participate in an absolutely serious dialogue in the style of "do you think there will be a nuclear war or not?" for at least a couple of months. however!!! don't take it as a complaint, I don't think my situation is worse or better than yours;;; maybe the world is just changing and we need to follow if we are not at the helm, but sometimes I would like to stop following and just stop sjdhhd /ht I agree; especially when it becomes difficult to understand if it's just a joke or if it's serious, because laughter is the only thing that,,,, remains</3

everything is fine!!! fortunately, next week I have the last final and I'm all through August<3333 of course I have a little more study here and there for additional education, but these are small things~ well well well...🤨🤨🤨 /t /j /pos