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merely-a-caricature · 11 months

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Happy Asexual Spectrum Awareness (Ace) Week!

Ace week has started! Asexual awareness week takes place during the last full week of October, and will be taking place in this wonderful year of 2023 from October 22-28! I will be linking my sources at the end if you want to check them out and get extra info!

Ace Week is a time for us in the community to focus on all things asexual! Part of this involves campaigning for a greater understanding and acceptance of ALL of those in the ace-spec! It’s also a time to reflect on how far we’ve come as a community!

Now, since been talking about asexual it’s and awareness, but what exactly does it mean to be asexual?

Some who is asexual (shortened ace) experiences little to no sexual attraction, and what attraction is felt may be expedience in a way that is different from the norm. Asexuality is an umbrella term used for those on the asexual spectrum (or ace-spec). Being asexual may mean you’re not interested in sex, it may be that your repulsed my the idea of sex, but it could also mean you feels disconnect from sex. There a multitude of reasons why some may identify as asexual. One reason why someone may be asexual is because they have a low sex drive/libido

Being asexual is not the same as having a low sex drive or libido. Someone who is celibate may not have sex but still feel sexual attraction or have a high libido but not act in those desire for various reasons. Sexual attraction is not the same as a sex drive. Sexual attraction is wanted to perform sexual acts with a specific person or gender whereas libido is defined as sexual desire. What is meant by sexual desire is essentially a physiological response in which one gets aroused. Just because a person gets aroused does not necessarily mean they want to have sex either. It can simply be a response from your body due to hormones or other things without any of the psychological desire for sexual acts.

Sex drive is one’s general “appetite” for sex in general, not a specific person like with sexual attraction. Bottom line is, asexuals may have a sex drive, they may experience physiological arousal, but they rarely if ever experience the attraction to a specific person to want to have sex.

Although asexual people may not experience sexual attraction, they can most certainly experience other types of attraction like romantic or aesthetic attraction. For example, you can be a heteroromantic-asexual, or a homoromantic-asexual, and so on and so forth. I won’t get super in-depth here, but I can link some stuff about the Split-Attraction-Model (SAM) if you want to learn more. I just also want to mention not every asexual (or aromantic) person uses or likes the SAM. Personally, I find it helpful, but you can also chuck it out a window if if you want

Additionally, there are various cultural and personal attitudes asexuals may have towards sex. I have made post about the cultural attitudes towards sex and the personal attitudes towards sex respectively. As an example, I would say I am sex-ambivalent and sex-neutral personally. If you want to know what that means, read my posts or check out some resources I have linked at the end

Asexuality is a spectrum. Some people, like me, experience no sexual attraction. Other aces may experience attraction on occasion or in certain circumstances, like demisexuals who only experience sexual attraction after forming a strong emotional connection with someone. People who experience sexual attraction infrequently may be called graysexual . There are many microlabels out there, and it’s a personal choice whether or not to use them

I have the sources I used and some more resources linked if that interests you, and you can, of course, do some of your own more in-depth research! I would highly recommend checking out the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network as they have a lot of good information, answers to questions, and you can finds links to forums and such!

Sources/Extra Resources

What is Ace Week

Asexual

Sexual Attraction vs Sexual Arousal

Split Attraction Model

Asexuality Visibility and Education Network

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enderspawn · 2 years

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I’d love to hear about your world building :3

YIPPEE okay so. this’ll def be under a cut bc I haven’t written down a Lot of my planning and stuff for this campaign so nows a good a time as any

TLDR background info; this is all set for a possible future Glitter Hearts campaign. Glitter Hearts is a magical girl-based “Powered by The Apocalypse” style TTRPG. Ideally it would have like half adventure focus and half interpersonal/slice of life focus, since a lot of the system seems based around the relationships and feelings of the characters (hell, one of the debuffs you can suffer is feeling lonely and isolated from your friends)

also bc im not super into and familiar magical girls/anime, half the inspo is pulled from superhero-esqe stuff anyway.

ALL of this is to say that like. a decent chunk of this isnt gonna be the fun festive in depth magic world building and more like. making the staff and students at the school. admittedly like half of those are also magic but still dsjkfjl just adjust your expectations going in.

This campaign takes place in the small town of Clearlake, a somewhat northern area settled in this higher up mountainous region with a population of around 3,000 total. Our story focuses on Rayfield High School, Clearlake's only high school, with approximately 50-60ish students per grade for a total of a bit under 280 total students.

At the moment, from the people I've spoken to it seems i'd have 3-5 players with characters ranging from freshmen (14-15) to seniors (17-18). So, I'd need to not only flesh out more than one grade level with at lease Some NPCs, i'd also need to give them an excuse to hang out together and interact because typically seniors and freshmen don't tend to like. yknow. interact.

My current idea and solution to that is to force them all into a club. However, i'd also like an excuse for them to have a set SHARED social circle so I dont have to manage/flesh out as many NPCs-- so its going to be a public club, not just some club thats just them and secretly a front for their magical girl group.

I'd like to have the campaign start with each player having more or less just discovered their "powers" here (or, if they've had it a while they have never used them). the point is they're beginners and don't know whats going on.

On the first day of school, they'd attend an all-school assembly. however, strange "earthquakes" start happening and shaking the school building, leading staff to evacuate the students out the assembly hall in a rush. However, the players would see something different-- monsters, who are seemingly causing the issue.

They would (ideally) sneak away from the group in the chaos, transform, and deal w the monsters (stealthily, since part of the campaign would be keeping the supernatural unknown and their identity a secret....ish). While fighting, another figure approaches them and helps them beat the monsters-- a woman with powdery blue hair curled and whipped into itself, with a protective orange visor over her eyes, red and silver wing-like armor, and large tawny wings.

THIS npc is crucial to me as a dm. meet Coach Amelia Beaufort (she/her), also known as Aeolus or "North Wind".

(in game stats: the coach, the idol, air)

(note: all art and references in this post are generated from THIS site, recolor.me! great for designing a bunch of in depth fun designs)

Coach Beaufort is not only the school's English teacher (and the Coach of the school's [sport] team, but also an experienced magical girl/hero. she acts as an introduction to the actual like... magical world and helps guide the players both as a teacher and a magical mentor.

She would also be responsible for explaining a lot of the worldbuilding, aka the point of this post im only now getting to, to the player characters.

In short, people who have the ability to transform into this magical persona and fight are referred to as "Magically Intuned", or just "Intuned" for short. They're tasked with protecting the people around them from supernatural and hidden threats, but seem pretty uncommon? Clearlake itself only has four Intuned, with one only popping up within the last year-- Aeolus is one of them.

There's actually a little more to it that Aeolus doesn't know, tho i'm still figuring parts of it out myself. For one, Intuned only tend to pop up with one person for every 500-1000 people. In reality, Intuned are created because of necessity. Some grand cosmic kind of force works to automatically balance out things, and the more danger an area faces the more Intuned it creates to fight said danger. So, the fact that Clearlake's Intuned count has seemingly doubled at once (with, unknown to the characters, more popping up after them) is... concerning.

I think one character they'd meet later on, Cherubim, would know a bit more along that line (mainly the creation based on need), but thats bc they kind of specialize in learning about the Intuned in depth.

I think the overarching plotline would part focus on WHAT is causing the players to become Intuned (aka the Threat that is approaching), but also why THEY SPECIFICALLY were chosen.

as for the threat, my current idea is basically "crossing of planes and the thinning of the borders between those planes all culminating on a portal opening in town Eventually to release The Supernaturals on the town". as for why ppl get chosen... im still undecided? after all, i think it would influence a lot of the themes of the story.

Was the choice ultimately random, making a theme of reacting to what life throws at you and taking destiny in your own hands? were they chosen because they had a special certain set of traits, like the Universe knew that they were determined enough to achieve their goals? is it a situation that they had the Most of X, but anyone could be a hero? idk! still brewing on that one, tbh it could change as the campaign goes on to work w the themes that emerge naturally.

One of the features of Glitter Hearts is that, unless it's specifically a drawback of your transformation, you are unrecognizable between your civilian and transformed identity. Maybe through persuasion or un-transforming first to gain their trust or whatever, I'd want Coach Beaufort to learn the player's identities and convince them to join her club, the Newspaper/Yearbook club, to let her keep a close eye on them and help them.

and with that established, then over time meeting the other Intuned can come later, as well as more interpersonal/less magical based plots + dramas. basically in my brain ive laid out the very basics of a session 1 that would Establish the baseline.

other small notes:

it would be explicitly mentioned that the monsters fought in session 1 could only be seen by the Intuned, but not all are like that (+ that they have to keep their identity and the existence of magic + the supernatural secret)

while it may be different in larger towns, in Clearlake there is no like... organization of the Intuneds. like they only know each other bc they find each other while on patrol or word of mouth. theres no real hierarchy

finally im gonna dump some abt the NPCs ive made and more fleshed out, aka the Intuned ones. i have some non-intuned ones drafted too (such as a jokester class clown on the sports team and a suspicious investigator type which may play antagonist and look into the PCs), but. eh! anyway

meet the other Intuned:

Meredith Lane (she/her), the school's librarian-- also known under the title "The Mistress of The Night".

(in game stats: the team player, the warrior, death)

something that doesn't come across in these designs, partly bc i decided it later, is that her transformed form is MUCH visually younger. she's the oldest and the most experienced intuned, having fought for a few decades, but despite being (and looking) around 50-60 in her civilian form, her transformed aspect looks mid to late 20s at best.

part of how I personally designed each intuned's transformation form is like... how they view the role? for mrs lane here, she enjoys trashy semi-erotic romance novels and views her role as a way to kinda embrace escapism and take up a persona from one of those trashy novels. its the same reason her transformed hero name is "The Mistress"-- she just likes those.

shes fairly shy and reserved as the librarian, but much more outgoing and confident as the mistress. also, she has black spiderlace gloves that turn into fucking scissorhand weapons and then she slashes the shit out of things to fight.

I think she had one other Intuned to fight alongside for a lot of her early life (who i kinda want to have been Killed In Action), until Amelia came about and she took her under her wing to train. It's kind of an earlier pointing to the slowly increasing amt of intuneds.

going off of age + years of experience, next up would be Amelia but we've already covered her so 3rd out of the 4 intuneds of the town is...

Kyle Thompson (he/him), the math teacher's college-aged TA (he's taking courses online, but needs an irl semester+ of assisting for his education minor). However, he also dawns the persona when transformed of Gawain.

(in game stats: the loner, the defender, metal)

Much like how Meredith views her transformation as escapism, Kyle? Kyle is roleplaying. Gawain is his all-good noble knightly character that he plays and thus his design was made to reflect that. IRL he's a bit of a loner, awkward, and a bit grungy so he uses Gawain as if it were his WoW character.

Finally, the newest and youngest of the town's Intuned...

Azrael Young, though they go by "Azzie" for short (they/xe). Azzie is not only a fellow classmate, but an incoming freshman, though for almost a year now has been secretly fighting as their persona Cherubim (they/he/she).

(in game stats: the true believer, the tactician, love)

im not gonna lie i fucking love azzie they're probably lowkey my favorite oops. it started with like... subverting expectations? one of the everday identites you can choose in game to build your character is "the goth" so i was like "what if... i made a goth.... who WASNT that". then, when making the super form i was like "but what if... the emo... was LOVECORE BASED".

then i added extra autism (specifically surrounding angels, which is why they chose the name Azrael for the angel of death as well as an angel name for their transformed persona).

also something i think is neat: the everyday identity I gave xem, "the true believer"? gives a minus one to mental skill. which is what the tactician uses. but also, i really LIKE that they're presumably shit at their role bc they're still NEW to it yknow? also it means xe can use xer powers without transforming and i think thats neat as hell (bc i also decided their transformation downside is that it takes a While. so its a balance of "transform and save your identity" or "act now and protect ppl".

bc of the true believer thing being "highly tuned into the weird side of the world" as well as the tactician being like the intellectual strategist role, Azzie is in charge (self appointed) of learning more abt the intuned and supernatural. kind of the guy in the chair cliche, kind of the walking exposition and plot delivery.

finally, i have not one of the established intuneds, but rather a classmate that WILL gain powers later into the campaign.... and be a villain >:3c

Lola McKinley (she/they), high school junior and head photographer of the Yearbook club. When the campaign starts, she is genuinely Just another student. She's kind and sweet and seems fairly popular even. But, some amt of arcs later the party would start hearing about a new antagonist popping up with underlings referring to their boss as "The Green-Eyed Witch" (she/her).

(in game stats: the savant, the witch, envy*)

so the fun part abt this character, beyond it being the first npc i came up with, is that she's part homebrew. Each character has an element (physical or emotional) they're tied to which dictates certain abilities they can have. Lola's element is envy, which is also what fuels her villainy. she would be jealous and envious of the ppl around her, especially the PCs. then, even when she gains mystical powers she'd find that those people she envied not only already had them but are stronger and have a team. so, she goes mad and tries her best simply to be better.

i mean. thats all the rough idea, and im sure it'll be adjusted with play and over time so it feels more natural. but the gist is that she'd feel shunted aside and grow jealous of the players, then when she gets powers she uses them for Bad bc of that jealousy. in my mind, this is 100% a fight the players talk their way to success, not fight (i might even try to balance it that way by making her hard to defeat in combat). theoretically, if they DO talk to her she can convert to the Good Side and I'll open up the homebrew envy abilities to the players to possibly add to their own arsenal (under the idea they learn it FROM Lola)

also the fact she Doesn't have green eyes at all, in either form, but other npcs Will is very funny to me. i want discovering who the green eyed witch is to be a bit of a mystery before the Grand Reveal so consider them a few red herrings. especially bc the envy thing is home made, its slightly less likely their mind will go to that saying.

OKAYYYY this post is too long but. i think ive gotten the GIST of everything ive been thinking abt for this campaign down.

i mean like. i still have a few other NPCs and coming up with clubs/extracurriculars ppl can join, and class schedules, and yadda yadda but thats with time. it's looking like if i DO run this it'll be like. in a month or two Next Year anyway so ive got time.

also i wanna make a form w questions for the players to answer for me to give me like. both an understanding of their character but also things to play with. for emotionally damaging reasons. but agaiinnnn ill make it later.

in the mean time Thank you both for the excuse to ramble and finally type this up, but ALSO for reading to this point. i love you. mwah.

#og post #answered #dracolunae #personal #save

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midnights-call · 2 years

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Home Base

Here's a standard "how to navigate my blog and such" post.

About Me

Hi, I'm Declan/Riley (please use both/interchange them) and I'm a transmasc artist and writer living in the USA. I have some health issues that are a mystery as of right now, but have left me disabled. Currently trying to figure out my life and what I want to do for a career, since my last one relied on me being physically healthy and all that. I'm also autistic and am prone to going on hyperfixation sprees, usually about my ocs/wips but occasionally about other media like Dragon Age.

You're welcome to tag me in any posts and send me messages at any time. I might not always have the energy to get to everything right away, but I like chatting and participating in fun things.

My Carrd

For my other socials and a bit more about me, you can check out my carrd linked here.

Commission Info

For a direct link to my commission information, you can go right here. It's updated as commissions open and close, detailing what types you can get along with visual examples of each.

General Tags

For all posts made by my pals: #friend posts

Every post made by me will be tagged with: #my post

Any art I draw and share will be tagged as: #my art

Wip posts/reblogs will always have the formate of: [wip title] wip (ex. fated wip)

Oc posts/reblogs will have the format: oc: [oc name] (ex. oc: teali thakur)

Ship posts/reblogs will have the format: ship: [ship name] (ex. ship: wrestling)

Information on each wip with links to their intro posts are below the cut

Arcanist's Gambit

Three people are brought together in this dark high fantasy novel after one makes a decision that will permanently alter the course of their lives. In a world where it feels like everyone is against you, will you allow yourself to be loved or fill yourself with wrath?

Bloodied Hands, Tainted Hearts

In this combination supernatural, fantasy, and sci-fi novel, an unlikely group of people must come together and find the cure for a plague that's ripping through the nation. Affecting both normal humans and the monstrous krovolk, people with an infection that gives them a bestial form and a hunger for blood, it seems impossible that anyone could stop the thing that has left thousands dead. But someone has to try, don't they?

Darkest Depths

When the messiah starts to hear the call of the dark god he's been warned about all of his life, he can't help but want to heed it. In this dark fantasy novella, follow Caspain as he gets drawn deeper and deeper into the ocean's inky depths, questioning if he should ever come back up for air again.

Fated

A high fantasy novel following an unlikely chosen one who wants nothing to do with being chosen, and the people tasked with protecting them. But as the group ventures forward, they begin to discover that the danger the prophecy dictates is not what they think.

Sign of the Times

When two exes are brought back together again to fight back against an oppressive government that seeks to wipe out those with divine power, they are forced to find a way to put aside their past and work for a new future. But what lies in the past may be the key to saving the world, and stopping a foe neither knew they were fighting in this modern fantasy novel.

Starcrossed

The top two agents in a shadowy organization known only as The Company are assigned a mission together. The only problem is, they hate each other. Unfortunately for them, it seems they're the only ones capable of saving the world from a nefarious plot made to frame them for starting World War 3 in this action thriller. Go figure.

Other OC Tags

#micah dugal (he/they) is my tiefling moon druid 5e character from a campaign I'm playing in. He's an aloof and guarded person who, once loyal to you, would die for you in a heartbeat.

#introduction #navigation #my post

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meteorblazes · 7 months

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Evere Lore post yayyyy

this is about to be one long ass post oops sorryyyyyy so it's going under a read more

SOME QUICK CW'S!!!

Child Abuse (Malignant Neglect)

Suicide

Name: Evere (Eh-veer) or Evey Age: 18 Pronouns: She/They

Backstory pt. 1

Sooooo Evey was born in a time after some severe infighting amongst sorcerers, and their family is kind of the Paragon of Sorcerery, the ones who put an end to the infighting and brought sorcerers together (this is not the full truth but that's too much info for this post) The modern standard for everyone to follow; they are seen as kind, collected, and generous. Any sorcerer has heard of them and feels their influence.

They are called the Van der Aarts, their name being a nod to their natural talent with earth magic, and are nobility in a sorcerer kingdom called Verene.

Given how prominent they are and how many eyes are on them, the Van der Aarts have arrived to retain their position and perception for three generations now, acting perfectly and never doing Anything that would embarrass them or Verene.

Up until they have a disabled child- Evere >:)

It was unexpected. A sorcerer unable to use their magic is, according to modern historians, unprecedented. And a sorcerer unable to use their magic being born to the Van der Aarts...? Oof.

Evey was not treated well.

Immediately upon realizing Evey is Not like them, the Van der Aarts went to extreme lengths to keep her hidden away. Of course this had such great results /s. Evey grew up isolated and magically deprived, which was bad for both her AND her magic. Practically no one knew she even existed, and was mostly confined to their room, unable to leave the Van der Aart estate lest someone find out.

Sorcerers

What do I mean by bad for both Evey and their magic?

First thing to know: Magic, in this campaign, is a force that sentient and alive.

Sorcerers get to know their magic like a friend. They work together, live together, exist in perfect harmony-but are ultimately separate beings, just very intertwined. They need each other to survive wholly. If you were to remove one, the other would be negatively impacted. The sorcerer would go comatose, and the magic would come out warped and misshapen.

With that, they also have their own separate needs. Magic is pulled from the universe to be part of sorcerers; it's cut off from the outside world and needs to be able to reconnect with magic in the universe. It's necessary to maintain your magic.

The time magic does this is on days called sabbats!! They're based on Pagan sabbats, and are days in which magical energy in the universe spikes. Sorcerers from all over celebrate them with parties, but ultimately they're for the magic.

Magic is also a force that needs to constantly be moving. If not, it grows stagnant and begins to fester, becoming something twisted and gangrenous. Magic like this can cause severe suffering.

How That Relates to Evey

Evey is unable to use their magic, or have it flow in any way. As we've established, this is bad bad bad. For eighteen years, Evey's magic has been festering.

This is bad for not only it, but also Evey herself. Magic and sorcerer are so intertwined- if something were off with one, the other would be effected, as well.

Evey's Disability

I've said a couple of times that Evey is disabled, but haven't gone too in depth into that. Get ready for more crazy sorcerer lore, sorry not sorry i love making convoluted lore.

So there are three main biological/physiological components that allow sorcerers to make and house magic:

The fostering place - The place where magic is housed. It's shown with a Sorcerer's Mark

Gateways - What allows magic to flow in and out of the fostering place and to the rest of the body. These also allow for the regulation of magic so that a simple cantrip doesn't take up half a sorcerer's magic supply, AND allows for communication between sorcerer and magic.

Pathways - what takes the magic from the gateways to the rest of the body

Evey never developed gateways. So their magic has been stuck inside them for eighteen years, and always screaming, and Evey has been unable to communicate with it.

Backstory pt. 2

All of this aforementioned information is inaccessible to Evey. Sorcerers in this campaign frown upon magic research and the study of magic as a whole. They believe that any and all information shared with them is sacred, and what isn't simply isn't. It's the ultimate "need-to-know" basis. To look into it, and pry all its secrets away... It's considered heresy. And due to some crazy stuff regarding sorcerers, scientists are unable to study how it all works.* This is one big collective gap in the general public's knowledge.

This is where most of Evey's problems start. At a young age she had to start learning in secret- studying and researching magic- to find a way to fix whatever's wrong with her. So not only are they a freak for being unable to use their own magic, but also because they're STUDYING it. Evey's smart as hell, though, and dedicates years to this despite the shame they feel for it- after all, you can't make an omelet (be accepted by your family and society and live without excruciating pain and not have to hear your poor magic scream without being able to help it AT ALL) without breaking a few eggs, right!!!

If they have to do bad things to reach their goal, then- then so be it.

It'll all work out in the end. It'll all be ok! Both Evey and their Magic will be able to live freely and correctly! Without being freaks!

...Right?

Wrong.

Evey never finds that miracle cure.

As time goes on, the symptoms of this just keep getting worse- especially around sabbats. Evey's magic is constantly screaming, pushing against what's keeping it down (which is Evey's lack of gateways), begging to be let out.

A girl can only take so much before they start to crack a little. It hurts, both physically and mentally, every time she's forced to miss a sabbat, every time they're unable to cast a spell, every time her magic pleads to be let out- it was only a matter of time before Evey started to get desperate. Their magic is starving. She has to do SOMETHING, or it's only going to get worse.

So, she does something stupid- she goes to a Sabbat. It doesn't go well. Sorcerers are extremely picky about who or who isn't allowed at a sabbat celebration- some unknown girl, especially one who is clearly.... not right, showing up out of the blue? It's cause for panic.

The entire group of sorcerers (called a coven) scrambles. Everyone misses the sabbat. And as we've seen with Evey, magic unable to get what it needs gets angry.

Evey's family finds out and kicks her out immediately.

She's truly alone, and believes this is deserved- after all, she did this. She caused all these people to be hurt. Of course the Van der Aarts had to kick them out.

It's only right. It's only justice.

Evey wanders a bit, and lives on their own, stilly studying to find a cure and fix everything.

But it's not enough. Her Magic, the poor thing, is tired of waiting. It wants out. And the only way to do that... is to go through Evey.

Sorcerers, due to their unique biology, explode with magic upon death. Literal explosion. It's the magic returning to the grand whole of the universe; a puzzle piece being slotted back into place.

Magic will also claw its way out of its host if it's not properly maintained, killing them. It starts with pinprick spots.

It's not Evey's fault. She doesn't even blame her poor Magic. It's just scared, and hurting.

But it's also going to kill her, and that violent end is not something Evey wants. Just once- just fucking once Evey would like to have a say in ANYTHING that is happening to her. To live, to be accepted, TO HAVE A FUTURE. JUST ANOTHER DAY, PLEASE.

In comes Hullabaloo. @soupthecoolest's SUPER EPIC AND CUNTY ANTAGONIST!!!!! Art creds to soup as well!!!

She calls herself the Puppeteer, and gives Evey the opportunity of a too-short lifetime: Come to Purgatory, and be my Eyes- and I will give you unimaginable power.

It's the miracle Evey's been searching for. It's the best option she has.

Evey's always been at the whim of everything else, and nothing has ever been in their control- but this can be. They can finally have the life they deserve.

So Evey does the only rational thing:

She drowns herself.

Campaign Starts

The Puppeteer delivers- Evey can use her magic! She was right, it is unimaginable- Evey can do anything! Can be anything! Wherever they step, the earth itself bends to their whim. Magma rises beneath their feet, the earth's blood pumping in tandem with their own. It's incredible.

It doesn't hurt so bad anymore, she can breathe, can move, can be without fear and without shame!! This is what she was always meant to be- a sorcerer.

She's just gotta finish one teensy weensy favor for the Puppeteer first: spy on this party. After all, Evey always repays a debt!!

And with Evey's now useable power? Fucking child's play >:)

She's like a little kid with a key to the candy shop! Nothing can stop her, and nothing will!

So what if she starts to go crazy? So what if they start to act recklessly, and horribly, and hurt everyone around them?

They can finally breathe! Can finally be! After all, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!

Hecatoncheir

They haven't been able to talk for so long, but- but now they can. For the first time in eighteen years Evey speaks with her magic. It's absolutely wonderful. It's been nothing but one-sided conversations this whole time, always able to hear but never respond. Now they talk, now they are one, working in... well, not harmony, but it's getting there! Don't worry!

All this time, Evey's magic has always called itself Earth's Blood. Now, Evey has given it a new name- with its permission, of course!! Evey would never ever ever do anything her magic didn't want.

She calls it Hecatoncheir, Hecaton and Tonnie for short. The Many Handed One, because when she casts a spell it feels like countless hands shaping and molding what Evey wants.

This is more than anything she could have ever dreamed.

The Prophecy

Evey learns things, as a spy. And not just about the party. She learns about a prophecy. A destiny that she appears to have- to take down a great evil in the world and restore balance.

It calls her not by name, but by title: Dominance.

Evey doesn't know what to make of it.

But she does know one thing: she has no true intentions of fulfilling it.

This deal they have with the Puppeteer- it takes precedence. Sorry, party! Evey's got other plans.

The Betrayal

Evey's a kid with the key to a candy shop. The power they hold is going to their head- and the party's the one to have to suffer for it. The entire time she's been in purgatory, spying, she's been acting horrifically. Like a monster.

It all comes to a head when Evey betrays the party. In one big grand finale, she fights them, uses every weakness she knows against them, and doesn't give a flying shit about how it hurts. All they know is that they are finally the one with the upper hand.

It All Falls Apart

...But that's the thing about upper hands. Everyone thinks they have one, until someone comes along and breaks it.

Oh, Evere, you precious idiot- did you really think this would work? How delusional.

The Puppeteer- Hullabaloo- didn't do this out of the kindness of her heart. She's the one the prophecy says has to be taken down. Evey's never been anything more than a pawn to her. Anything she "did" for them was for one thing, and for one thing only: a show.

And oh, did Evey provide! What a spectacular mess they've made of themself! Acted crazy, destroyed things, burned every single bridge they have for this! Died for this- oh, now that was funny!

You stupid, stupid wretch of a girl.

You were never going to walk out of this in one piece.

Hullabaloo shows up. She's terrifying. Looks at Evey the same way a child looks at a toy they're bored with and takes back her "gift".

Evey and Hecaton both are right back where they started- separated, in pain, with no future and no control- just a pissed off party, an especially enraged Hecaton, and a destiny.

Oh, Dominance. You thought you could duck out of this?

You foolish, rusty nail of girl.

You're in this for the long haul :)

#tw suicide #evere #dnd character #dnd art #my art #meteorblaze art #cnd

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ewanmackay99 · 2 years

Text

Post #8 Case Study Rough

DESIGN RESEARCH PROJECT

Here's The Thing About Cardiac Arrest. (Wait do you know it?)

Project description

I Researched and designed a Cardiac Arrest Awareness Campain.

THE PROBLEM:

The problem is simple, Too many sudden cardiac

arrest attacks result in death that is preventable due to

a lack of knowledge of CPR and poor response by

bystanders. If you go into cardiac arrest outside of a

the hospital there is only a 6% chance that you will

survive. There are multiple factors why this number is

so low, such as the location and accessibility of the

victim when an attack occurs, by-standards reaction

time, and the victim not being able to communicate

that they are in distress. However statistically 54% of

North Americans know how to perform CPR and only

1/6 people know that chest compressions can make

a difference to a victim. The general public does not

know enough to confidently spot the signs of a

sudden cardiac arrest attack and take the

appropriate actions required to save a life.

THE AUDIENCE:

The most beneficial audience to learn about sudden

cardiac arrest attacks and CPR will be university

students. That is why my target market is students of

Vancouver Island University. I want these life-saving

skills to be lifelong and spread across Canada. VIU

students make a great audience because there is a

large range of programs being offered to students

coming from all over Canada and the world to study,

with the majority of students being under the age of

25. This is beneficial because these skills will branch

out across the Canadian workforce more effectively

than targeting specific programs.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

Success will be when fewer people die unnecessarily

from cardiac arrest due to more members of the

public knowing how to recognize the symptoms of a

sudden cardiac arrest and perform CPR at a

moment's notice.

Research and Analysis

I went through multi-phase rounds of research and revision, creating rationales, presentations, briefs, success statements, and Research papers that all contributed the making my deliverables, purposeful, informative, creative, and accurate.

The wording and definition of the problem, the audience, what success looked like, and the deliverables evolved and developed at every step.

Design Process

Each deliverable went through 3 rounds of critiques and adjustments to make sure each element was purposefully placed and added value to the final deliverable. There was also an hour session with 4 local design professionals to critique and add insight.

Design Solution and Deliverables

STICKER: a specially designed sticker the size of a

credit card, 3.375 inches by 2.125 inches to be

placed on the inside of any modern phone case,

listing simply and clearly the procedural instructions

of CPR with small illustrations. This is the most

important information about the campaign and having it

on the inside of the audience's phone case means

that they will likely have it conveniently but discretely

on their person at all times.

META ADVERT: geo located Adverts to VIU over

Instagram and Facebook (Meta Ads) will be the most

effective way to get my cardiac arrest awareness

campaign to the desired audience. It will be a 4-

page carousel with a strong gripping cover, then

again showing the simply short instructions on CPR as

well, the symptoms and causes of an attack.

PAMPHLET: A two-sided pamphlet that will go into

pre-existing stands around VIU campus. This will be

the more in-depth instructions on how to recognize

the symptoms, what to do when coming across

someone having an attack, the appropriate steps,

Detailed instructions on CPR, and the risk and causes

of an attack.

BUS STOP POSTER: A poster to be displayed at the

VIU bus loop and bus stop around Nanaimo that are

on the bus route to VIU that gets people thinking

about whether or not they would currently be able to

give CPR at a moment's notice and then info below

on how to do so.

A 28 Page case study booklet showing the deliverables and process of the research project as a whole for someone to get efficient and informative information on the whole campaign.

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thevalleyisjolly · 4 years

Note

Hi there! If you feel up to it, would you be willing to expand a bit more on the idea of white creators creating poc characters who are ‘internally white’, especially in a post-racialized or racism-free setting & how to avoid it? It’s something I’m very concerned about but I haven’t encountered a lot of info about it outside of stories set in real world settings. Thanks & have a good day!

Hey, thanks for asking, anon! It’s a pretty nuanced topic, and different people will have different takes on it. I’ll share my thoughts on it, but do keep in mind that other people of colour may have different thoughts on the matter, and this is by no means definitive! These are things I’ve observed through research, trial and error, my own experiences, or just learning from other writers.

The first thing I guess I want to clarify is that I personally am not opposed to a society without racism in fiction. It’s exhausting and frankly boring when the only stories that characters of colour get are about racism! So it’s a relief sometimes to just get to see characters of colour exist in a story without dealing with racism. That being said, I feel like a lot of the time when creators establish their settings as “post-racial,” they avoid racism but they also avoid race altogether. Not aesthetically -they may have a few or even many characters with dark skin- but the way the characters act and talk and relate to the world are “race-less” (which tends to end up as default white American/British or whatever place the creator comes from). Which I have complicated thoughts on, but the most obvious thing that springs to mind is how such an approach implies (deliberately or not) that racism is all there is to the way POC navigate the world. It’s definitely a significant factor, particularly for POC in Western countries, but it’s not the only thing! There’s so much more to our experiences than just racial discrimination, and it’s a shame that a lot of “post-racial” or “racism-free” settings seem to overlook that in their eagerness to not have racism (or race) in their stories.

A quick go-to question I ask when I look at characters of colour written/played by white creators is: if this was a story or transcript I was reading, with no art or actors or what have you, would I be able to tell that this character is a character of colour? How does the creator signal to the audience that this is a character of colour? A lot of the time, this signal stops after the physical description - “X has dark skin” and then that’s all! (We will not discuss the issue of racial stereotypes in depth, but it should be clear that those are absolutely the wrong way to indicate a character of colour).

This expands to a wider issue of using dark skin as a be-all-end-all indication of diversity, which is what I mean by “aesthetic” characters of colour (I used the term “internally white” originally but upon further reflection, it has some very loaded implications, many of which I’m personally familiar with, so I apologize for the usage). Yes, the character may not “look” white, but how do they interact with the world? Where do they come from? What is their background, their family? A note: this can be challenging with diaspora stories in the real world and people being disconnected (forcibly or otherwise) from their heritage (in which case, those are definitely stories that outsiders should not tell). So let’s look at fantasy. Even the most original writer in the world bases their world building off existing things in the real world. So what cultures are you basing your races off of? If you have a dark skinned character in your fantasy story, what are the real world inspirations and equivalents that you drew from, and how do you acknowledge that in a respectful, non-stereotyped way?

(Gonna quickly digress here and say that there are already so many stories about characters of colour disconnected from their heritage because ‘They didn’t grow up around other people from that culture’ or ‘They moved somewhere else and grew up in that dominant culture’ or ‘It just wasn’t important to them growing up’ and so on. These are valid stories, and important to many people! But when told by (usually) white creators, they’re also used, intentionally or not, as a sort of cop-out to avoid having to research or think about the character’s ethnicity and how that influences who they are. So another point of advice: avoid always situating characters outside of their heritage. Once or twice explored with enough nuance and it can be an interesting narrative, all the time and it starts being a problem)

Another thing I want to clarify at this point is that it’s a contentious issue about whether creators should tell stories that aren’t theirs, and different people will have different opinions. For me personally, I definitely don’t think it’s inherently bad for creators to have diverse characters in their work, and no creator can live every experience there is. That being said, there are caveats for how such characters are handled. For me personally, I follow a few rules of thumb which are:

Is this story one that is appropriate for this creator to tell? Some experiences are unique and lived with a meaningful or complex history and context behind them and the people to whom those experiences belong do not want outsiders to tell those stories.

To what extent is the creator telling this story? Is it something mentioned as part of the narrative but not significantly explored or developed upon? Does it form a core part of the story or character? There are some stories that translate across cultures and it’s (tentatively) ok to explore more in depth, like immigration or intergenerational differences. There are some stories that don’t, and shouldn’t be explored in detail (or even at all) by people outside those cultures.

How is the creator approaching this story and the people who live it? To what extent have they done their research? What discussions have they had with sensitivity consultants/readers? What kind of respect are they bringing to their work? Do they default to stereotypes and folk knowledge when they reach the limits of their research? How do they respond to feedback or criticism when audiences point things that they will inevitably get wrong?

Going back to the “race-less” point, I think that creators need to be careful that they’re (respectfully) portraying characters of colour as obvious persons of colour. With a very definite ‘no’ on stereotyping, of course, so that’s where the research comes in (which should comprise of more than a ten minute Google search). If your setting is in the real world, what is the background your character comes from and how might that influence the way they act or talk or see the world? If your setting is in a fantasy world, same question! Obviously, avoid depicting things which are closed/exclusive to that culture (such as religious beliefs, practices, etc) and again, avoid stereotyping (which I cannot stress enough), but think about how characters might live their lives and experience the world differently based on the culture or the background they come from.

As an example of a POC character written/played well by a white person, I personally like Jackson Wei and Cindy Wong from Dimension 20’s The Unsleeping City, an urban fantasy D&D campaign. Jackson and Cindy are NPCs played by the DM, Brennan Lee Mulligan, who did a good job acknowledging their ethnicity without resorting to stereotypes and while giving them their own unique characters and personalities. The first time he acted as Cindy, I leapt up from my chair because she was exactly like so many old Chinese aunties and grandmothers I’ve met. The way Jackson and Cindy speak and act and think is very Chinese (without being stereotyped), but at the same time, there’s more to their characters than being Chinese, they have unique and important roles in the story that have nothing to do with their ethnicity. So it’s obvious that they’re people of colour, that they’re Chinese, but at the same time, the DM isn’t overstepping and trying to tell stories that aren’t his to tell. All while not having the characters face any racism, as so many “post-racialized” settings aim for, because there are quite enough stories about that!

There a couple factors that contribute to the positive example I gave above. The DM is particularly conscientious about representation and doing his research (not to say that he never messes up, but he puts in a lot more effort than the average creator), and the show also works with a lot of sensitivity consultants. Which takes me to the next point - the best way to portray characters of colour in your story is to interact with people from that community. Make some new friends, reach out to people! Consume media by creators of colour! In my experience so far, the most authentic Chinese characters have almost universally been created/written/played by Chinese creators. Read books, listen to podcasts, watch shows created by people of colour. Apart from supporting marginalized creators, you also start to pick up how people from that culture or heritage see themselves and the world, what kind of stories they have to tell, and just as importantly, what kind of stories they want being told or shared. In other words, the best way to portray an authentic character of colour that is more than just the colour of their skin is to learn from actual people of colour (without, of course, treating them just as a resource and, of course, with proper credit and acknowledgement).

Most importantly, this isn’t easy, and you will absolutely make mistakes. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that you will mess up. No matter how well researched you are, how much respect you have for other cultures, how earnestly you want to do this right, you will at some point do something that makes your POC audience uncomfortable or even offends them. Then, your responsibility comes with your response. Yes, you’ve done something wrong. How do you respond to the people who are hurt or disappointed? Do you ignore them, or double down on your words, or try to defend yourself? Just as importantly, what are you planning to do about it in the future? If you have a second chance, what are you going to do differently? You will make mistakes at some point. So what are you going to do about them? That, I think, is an even more important question than “How can I do this right?” You may or may not portray something accurately, but when you get something wrong, how are you going to respond?

Essentially, it all comes down to your responsibility as a creator. As a creator, you have a responsibility to do your due diligence in research, to remain respectful to your work and to your audience, and to be careful and conscientious about how you choose to create things. It’s not about getting things absolutely perfect or being the most socially conscious creator out there, it’s about recognizing your responsibilities as a creator with a platform, no matter how big or small, and taking responsibility for your work.

In summary:

Research, research, research

Avoid the obvious no-no’s (stereotypes, tokenization, fetishization, straight up stealing from other cultures, etc) and think critically about what creative choices you’re making and why

Do what you’re doing now, and reach out to people (who have put themselves out there as a resource). There are tons of resources out there by people of colour, reach out when you’re not sure about something or would like some advice!

Responsibility, responsibility, responsibility

Thank you for reaching out! Good luck with your work!

#the valley is posting #thanks anon!#writing advice #hope this helps! if another POC has something to add - please go ahead!

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fonulyn · 3 years

Note

Did you see the new info about the re4 remake?? Apparently the village scene & a "decent portion of the game" take place at night now, it’s scarier & inspired by the RE4 betas, the side characters have bigger roles and Ada's campaign will be expanded. What are your thoughts on these changes I guess you would say??

it's always fair to assume i've never seen any new info because i am really not looking forward to it so i'm not following any news :'D

let's say I have Concerns™ :'D "a decent portion of the game" already takes place either in rain or during the night. it's only the village part in the beginning that's clearly in sunlight. and honestly? I don't think it'll get scarier just by making it a night. i think it'll take away from the creepiness, if anything.

like, for me personally, the creepiest thing and at the same time the most heartbreaking thing about it is thinking they were once just regular human beings. I adore how in the beginning you reach the village square and it's like... regular people going about their everyday lives, feeding their chicken, tending their cows, wait what is that a body they're burning in the middle of the square??? :'D that is what left an impression on me the first time I played. sure you already knew something was up, with the man in the first house and the few ganados who attack you there, but arriving to the village kind of solidified that. if that now happens during the night? idk I don't see how that'd improve it.

(and to add to this: during the ending credits when they show these still images of how the once happy village got taken over by the plagas and everything went straight to hell? that is done so goddamn well, it really underlined what i already felt in the beginning of the game about how it's so heartbreaking that these regular people got their lives ruined and got turned into puppets for some asshole to further their own goals)

of course it depends on how they'll handle the whole "night" thing, if it's actually done well or if it just means everything will be super dark for cheap jumpscares. that remains to be seen, who knows.

I am also concerned though that this means they've tightened the timeframe. like. it's never said outright how long Leon spends on the mission but it's at least one day because when he arrives it's clearly daylight, and when they leave with Ashley in the end it seems like early morning, so they spend the day and the evening and the night there. if it now will already be nighttime when Leon arrives? then it sounds like they shortened it considerably. which.. yeah, no. they already cut off significant portions of re3 when they remade it and i'm scared they'll cut up re4 into an unrecognizable torso of itself.

as for the side characters having bigger roles, idk, I love them? so i'm obviously all for letting them have more time in the limelight. but it depends on how they do it. if it means they get a few more lines and in exchange half of the actual game gets cut off? then it's not a fair trade. if it means they redo the entire plot? oh boy will i hate it :'D so it's really hard to say anything about this because it depends so much on what they'll do, it could be an amazing thing or they could fuck it up entirely. that remains to be seen, too, lol.

as for Ada's campaign, it again depends. if expanding it means that we'll get more info about her and more depth for her character? gimme. but if it means she gets to shoot a few more ganados then eh, not worth it.

so yeah. it's really hard to form any kind of actual opinions when everything we know so far is so vague. it all depends on the actual execution, in the end.

and I'm sorry for being so negative about this but re4 is one of my top fave games in the world and I am legit scared of them possibly butchering it. I know it makes no sense, I know the original still remains, but idek. I still think they should've left re4 alone and remade Code Veronica instead.

#re4re #re answers #anonymous #ask and i shall answer #i legit am sorry i can't be more hyped for it #but i'm scareeeed #as irrational as it is

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vvanite · 3 years

Note

Hi sorry to bother you but I saw your post about the TAZ GN earlier. What were the reactions to the Lucas Miller reveal? I cannot find any (negative) reactions at all about that here. Just some people saying "oh there he is" and that gets overshadowed by everyone losing their shit about Kravitz.

Thank you and have a great day

Hey there no worries! and i dont blame you for not finding much info, any discussion of this happened months ago so it probably got washed out. if anything, this gives me a chance to collectively create an archive of the Lucas situation :)

So the way we got to see Lucas's full design was through sneak peek releases of the Crystal kingdom gn a while ago. (also! it's important to point out that his design was shown in earlier novels but with crystal kingdom, it was when we had an official reveal) Of course, there were people who were nonchalant about him, but the ones I want to address are those who disliked it and those who were ehh liking him too much. (I'll explain more later on that)

So, a lot of people who disliked the design shared similar thoughts that Lucas shouldn't have been a person of color and that he should have been white.

It is for a number of reasons,

1. In the podcast, he owned SLAVES. enslaved bugbears to be exact. (Let's be honest that whole plot point in the podcast is bad that no one talks about enough) We don't know exactly why the creative team decided to make him a poc but one could say it was to lessen the blow of the bugbear plotline and how bad it was concept-wise. A person's race doesn't lessen or change the horrible shit a character did. Lucas is already an oppressor and him being brown does not lessen it like the creative team intended. It's just peak racial color-blindness. (The black cop trope is one I would compare this situation to.)

2. From a design standpoint, he didn't fit the vision people had with him being a nerdy white dude when listening to the campaign. And then when he was revealed, a lot of folks thought he looked ambiguously brown or being Desi since he has facial features related to that. I feel that I don't have the confidence to say if he is Desi but if we were to say that he is, that contributes to a stereotype of indian people of the annoying nerd archetype just like Lucas in the podcast.

3. It is not good representation at all. It really looked like the creative team was trying to fill a POC quota, instead of thinking critically of their design choices. Yes, characters of people should have the chance to be antagonists but they should also play other roles, especially protagonist roles. And it does NOT look good if you take a step back and realize the conflict consists of 2 white and 1 racially ambiguous (merle) heroes fighting against a person of color. Even if the bugbear slave plotline is changed or removed, that last point still stands.

NOW. we got the people who did like the design and their thirst over the design is just gross. Lucas being drawn as a conventionally attractive man makes him into this sexy evil brown man trope. People are forgetting they are thirsting over A SLAVE OWNER. and it seems like people just brush over the concerns of fans of color just because he looks hot. ugh

Just to clarify, I speak as an individual fan of color and most of these concerns are from discussions I've seen from other fans of color. These concerns are pretty summarized so I'll link perspectives from other poc from that time which has more depth. personally, I would ask you to not bring up this topic to them again when they have ALREADY explained their perspective to the public but if you want to... please be mindful if you bother them about this because I'm sure they are pretty tired from this UNLESS they first initiate a future discussion of this when the gns are released.

(For mcnuggyy, I just linked their general taz racism tag but if you want a narrow search, just search up lucas)

https://mcnuggyy.tumblr.com/tagged/taz+racism

https://herbgerblin.tumblr.com/post/631703276137611264/continued

Now this would be the point where I link a Paypal or venmo for you to pay for my time collecting information and educating you but I don't have one set up so just reblog my art as payment ty :>

#taz gn #taz #i was supposed to draw this night :p #dang

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oh-atlas · 4 years

Note

if you could talk about your world building that would be great thank u!

i'm like, writing this mostly in terms of dnd but this can also apply to just, general worldbuilding imo. i'd recommend having a separate document for each one of these points or honestly like, even more, especially if you're using word or google docs. tbh onenote is probably the best way to do this, but i also don't like the layout of onenote so i don't use it lmao

warning: this is long but i don’t want to put it under a readmore bc i actually think these is valuable tips for any dm or worldbuilder.r

1) you need a dump document. mine is called 'ZAEKATA BIG LEVEL LORE' and it's just basically wheree you can put everything that pops into your head that you save for later and just, the big concepts of how the universe works. the sections i have on this doc range from 'big vague lore and ideas for continents and countries', 'here's how the gods work', 'dragon time', to 'times of worship in abeza', 'architectural styles of the world', 'campaign ideas,' and 'random cool fantasy name drop'

tldr, it's a great place to just have ideas on the page and not have to worry about them making sense but just, have a big document where all of your ideas live. it is probably the document you will hunt through the 20 pages of to find that one sentence idea you want to revisit.

2) organizing how the fuck the world and your landmasses and continents work. i think there are a few things on the giant macro continental and country level that are essential to have a vague idea of how they function that you can refer to. i recently created a chart of it to work out for all of my continents but before i put the screenshot of that in i'll explain the segments.

terrain and climate features. you gotta figure out like, how the land works, is it a desert are there forests, where are the mountains, is there a cool fantasy crystal wasteland? knowing what type of biomes and ecosystems are on each continent is important, it's going to be a major touchstone on what monsters live there, what races, and what cultures develop.

pantheon. what the fuck the gods like. are there gods? how are they organized. in my world specifically, i have a lot of different types of gods and then different pantheons for different cultures and on some continents there are even multiple major pantheons. write down what you know about the gods and how they work. it doesn't need to be super detailed just baseline info about it.

civilizations / people. what kinds of people live there. what are the countries or regions and who lives there. again, doesn't really have to be detailed it just has to be names.

conflict. this is the most important thing especially when worldbuilding for dnd in my opinion. you want there to be points of contention and issues going on in every region of the world whether it's a dragon terrorizing townsfolk, or a clandestine organization plotting to kill the king. you always want there to be a problem for a party of heroes to solve should you decide to run a game or a oneshot in that area.

3) regions in depth. this is when you're narrowing in on what a Country or Region is like and can even be applied to cities to a degree. I'll pop my template for it after I explain the sections.

geography. pretty self explanatory and sort of like in the macro-organization phase but go into more depth. name specific landmarks and think about what the weather is like as well.

politics. how is the region run? what's the governmental structure and what are the issues at play. how does society function.

economy & trade. how these bitches livin? are they poor or is it a rich area, what do they trade with other regions, what resources do they have?

history. how did this place come to be. this can be relatively sparknote-y and focus on key events so it doesn't go on forever but that's also your choice.

culture and customs. what is the culture like? architecture? food? entertainment? how do people interact with each other and what makes them unique.

intellectual, arts, military. this also goes into magic a bit too like. how technologically or magically advanced is this place, what styles of art do they like, what do they do for fun? i’d also stick like, universities in this category. and then of course what sort of military force they have and are they willing to use it.

4) god time. i have a few rules for developing gods that i try to stick to but the concepts are sort of based on my interpretation of how dnd gods should work (including my very complicated 5 types of god system) but the part before my little lore template i make that's important to me is that i believe gods shouldn't be explicitly evil. i think it's lazy. i think gods should be just as interesting and multifaceted as other npcs or even pcs and have goals and motivations. they don't just sit around with nothing to do deciding to bless clerics they like. here's what my template for god building looks like

mechanical information. aka what's necessary for this to be a god that functions in dnd. alignment, name, epithets, symbols, the concepts they are the god of, the cleric domains they match with, and how they are worshipped/holy days.

relevance, knowledge, and motivations. how important are they going to be in your game or in the grand scale of the universe. how much do they know about the world and things going on (particularly relevant to a campaign). what do they want and what are their goals.

characteristics. what do they look like and how do they act. important for fleshing out in case you ever actually play them and to help your players decide whether it's a good fit for a god for their cleric.

powers and abilities. this is like. a weird vague one but like. if you actually had to SAY how much they can control about the world and influence what they can do if they really want to. examples include: creating tidal waves, earthquakes, taking people's memories away, etc.

affiliates. who do they know mortal or not. how do they relate with other gods, what mortals do they favor and the nature of their relationship with them.

history. again, more sparknotey but like, the lore and mythos behind the deity.

5) npcs. this is again i just have like, a little chart for how i build out npcs and i'll share the why of it and a screenshot of a template. i don't think you need to be super in depth on npcs but i also think this method does help flesh them out. i'd also recommend making your own document for storing npcs you’ve created, they come in handy later.

role. what's their important and what the fuck are they doing. examples include: shopkeep or the king of a wholeass country. this section just basically explains when you're going to have to use them and what for.

skills / powers / abilities. look. if this npc is a shopkeep maybe u want to give them a higher dc against thievery or even a lower one based on their personality. if they'e a powerful knight you might wanna shove a mini statblock in here (it's possible i've done it)

characteristics. appearance and personality. can be as in depth or brief as you want. also if you think it's necessary a bit of personal history.

knowledge and relevance. this is what they know about the world and why you want to interact with them. what information can they tell your players and are they the essential quest npc or just, fun bonus content in the city.

anyway this is super long but this is probably like. a lot of how i think about worldbuilding and try to organize it for myself! i hope it's reasonably helpful :)

#worldbuilding #dnd 5e #THIS IS SO LONG RIP TO ANYONE #long post #but yeah this is like. most of what i try to do to worldbuild and i know there's some gaps in it so if u want my thoughs on something more #otherwise enjoy #asks

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the-green-maiden · 4 years

Text

Supernatural Fair Fight Livestream Recap with timestamps

(based off of the notes I took while watching live. any errors are mine and not the fault of the cast or abrams)

21:01 Panel Starts. Misha introduces panel- Stacey Abrams, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padelecki, Erik Kripke, Berto the ASL interpreter.

21:02 Stacey Abrams talks about how she got into SPN. Talks about running for governor(?) in California(?), having trouble gathering support/campaign funds. On a particularly bad day, ends up watching SPN in her hotel room. Loves it, ends up watching the whole show after this. Quotes “Even if it’s hard we can’t stop” and “who else is going to do this” and talks about keeping going.

21:05 Kripke: “Wow”

Ackles: “That’s one of the most beautiful interpretations of what we do, how we tell the story.”

21:06 Kripke: “Grateful we could provide inspiration”

21:07 JarPad: *reiterates above* joke about how “Kripke’s writing is questionable at best.”

21:08 Misha: “The reason we tell stories is to inspire people” creates an allegory about the ‘invisible enemy’ of voter suppression with the invisible enemy trope common in storytelling. “As we made the show, we were taking inspiration from [Abrams]”

21:09 Kripke asks Abrams to tell more about Fair Fight

21:09 Abrams talks about a secretary of state(?) [whose name I didn’t catch but who JPad refers to as ‘Lucifer”] who was in charge of voter registries in Georgia who wrongfully removed thousands of voters from lists, closed essential polling locations, and prevented people from voting, which disproportionately impacted POC and youth voters, and led to 8+ hour wait times in remaining locations. Abrams tells of how her and FF acted to fix this and change the whole system for the better. “If this becomes about politicians, no one is going to care, but when it becomes about people’s [list of basic rights and essential services]...” “...Patriotic belief that democracy means that if you’re eligible to vote, you get to be heard. Fair Fight is committed to ensuring that every voter in the US has the right to vote, and we are pretty good at it.”

21:16 Misha voices concerns about Trump’s attempts to make the 2020 vote counts seem unreliable.

21:17 Abrams gives an in-depth history of voter suppression in the US, committed by both parties at various times, including restrictions on mail-in votes, ID laws, and something about the voting rights act.

21:18 A bunch more panelists join in, including Jake Abel, Felicia Day, and a number of other SPN cast members.

21:19 Abrams says that in Texas a gun license is a valid id to vote, but a college id is not. “Everyone should get to participate, not just the chosen.” Mentions that she has not seen the final 3 episodes yet, request no spoilers until she logs out.

21:22 Kripke thanks Abrams for her political work.

21:22 Felicia Day says she was very excited to meet Abrams at Dragon Con.

21:33 Misha and Kripke try to move panel along to comply with Abrams limited time availability.

21:24 Rachel Miner “We all admire you [Abrams], you’re our hero.”

21:25 JPad gives a long speech thanking Abrams that was too fast to write down verbatim. “It’s important that everyone have their own voice” says it’s an honor to meet Abrams.

21:26 Bob Singer asks a question about Purdue(?) not showing up to a debate.

21:27 Abrams gives a detailed answer about swing states, swing voters, the lack of swing voters in Georgia, and the relatively small impact that Purdue(?) missing a debate would have on his numbers. Long speech about mail-in voting.

21:29 Sebastian Roche asks a question about run-off votes. Abrams answers.

21:30 Rachel Miner asks a question about voter registration descrimination against people w foreign names.

21:31 Abrams talks about how this has happened and what Fair Fight is doing to combat it, and how Fair Fight’s legal actions have managed to significantly reduce the amount of mail-in ballots thrown out for having difficult to understand names on them.

21:33 Shoshanna Stern thanks Abrams for her efforts in making voting more disability accessible.

21:34 Abrams answers, gives more info on the subject and the importance of having accessible voting locations.

21:36 Jim Beaver says it’s wonderful to be able to talk to Abrams, etc.

21:37 Abrams realizes her time has just about run out, and says thank yous and good byes. Mentions that tomorrow is her birthday. Multiple members of the cast wish her a happy birthday. More goodbyes from everyone, and thank yous to and from Abrams. Abrams exits call.

21:39 Kripke and Misha encourage people to donate to FF

21:41 Misha and Jensen rib each other, joke about an open bar.

21:41 Misha “Now we’re just going to waste your time for half an hour now that she’s gone”

21:42 Curtis Armstrong tells a short story about his mother, who was a voter activist in Detroit and Switzerland, and how nice it was to see Abrams talk.

21:43 Trivia intro. Multiple jokes made at the same time about state capitals.

21:44 Jim Beaver “When my kid was 7, I asked her the capital of Vermont and she said V”

21:44 Kripke asks semi-serious question about what JPad wore as protection in the ball-crusher Japanese game show scene in Changing Channels.

21:45 JPad “A thimble. A mini-thimble. No, a cup.” says something else about the cup.

21:46 Ackles “Our special effects team likes to go above and beyond”

21:46 JPad comments about real fear in that scene

21:46 Misha tries to get trivia back on track. “Without powers, what does Dean say Cas is?”

------[Baby in a trenchcoat]

“Other name of the Impala?”

Julie McNiven guesses “A special place”. Someone calls out “baby”

-----[Metallicar]

“Name of Sam and Jess’s friend who goes with them to the bar in the pilot?”

Even JPad, who was in the scene, does not know. Kripke comments that it was named after an irl friend of his from Tiuanna, named LUIS.

“5 works Kripke ripped off for SPN?”

Everyone guessing at once, including: Animal House, On The Road, Good Omens, Constantine, Star Wars, and several others.

“What herpes medication does Sam have to do a commercial for?”

[Herpexia]

21:52 JPad and Julie rib each other about herpes meds, and argue whether the term is prescription or subscription for medication. One of them brings up the example of having a subscription to dog food.

21:52 Jake Abel “What if your dog has herpes?”

Misha “I only hope that Stacey Abrams has tuned in”

Seb makes another joke about state capitals, then asks JPad the capital of Albania.

Jared has no idea, guesses ‘new albania’

Seb “Tirana” talks about having lived on a boat, presumably near Albania.

Rob Benedict: “Thanks for tuning in”

Bob Singer asks who knows the story of Seb getting a massage at VAncouver airport.

Jared (paraphrased) “We all fly through Vancouver airport a lot. Just past security there’s a massage place [with the chairs where you face the floor].” One day JPad and Ackles went through security and saw Seb getting a massage. They go over, convince the masseuse [who knows them all at this point] to let JPad take over. Seb does not notice, despite the fact that the masseuse is a small woman and JPad is holding his hands weird to try to make them smaller. JPad says he put his hands down Seb’s back and up his shirt, and Seb still did not notice, just making a noise and saying ‘very nice’. JPad gets as far as groping Seb’s ass before Seb notices anything is up. This is still the middle of a busy airport.

21:58 Seb “It was strangely sensual. Thank you, Robert, for bringing that up.” “I was perturbed for the whole flight back.”

Ackles “Another highbrow story”

Seb “It’s really fun being on that set. It really is” Claims they are also serious sometimes, to which there is laughter in response.

Ackles “It going to be like that on The Boys, Krip?”

Kripke “No massages to completion”

Seb “Wait there was no completion”

Krip “Saw photos of [Ackles’s] supersuit today”

Multiple jokes from several people about Ackle costume for The Boys being assless, crotchless, entirely made of paint, and cowboy-themed.

22:01 Misha “time for about 5 minutes of outtakes”

Someone jokes about adding ‘give Seb a massage’ as a donation tier.

Misha thanks the fans, says he loves and misses all the cast. Asks Rob B to sing.

22:02 Rob B “tune into my radio show” [for singing]

22:03 Misha announced that $225,000 has been raised for charity so far in the stream.

More thank yous from everyone to everyone, including the zoom team.

22:04 Seb “Vote out Mitch McConnel:

Jensen “Such as British accent to tell us who to vote for”

Seb “I’m half French half Scottish”

Jensen and Seb joke about scottish and french alcohols, and how they can’t be mixed.

22:05 Kripke thanks the fans for 15 years. Everyone else joins in on thanking fans for 15 years.

Jake Abel “There was a big gap in there for me somewhere”

Seb asks if Jake was in the first season.

22:06 Jake “3rd, 5, and 15”

Seb gives long thank you speech.

Jensen talks about how the cast is sticking together “This group is not being dispersed”...”I take comfort in knowing this” jokes that they’re stuck together whether they like it or not.

Misha “Like herpes”

Felicia “Genital or otherwise”

22:07 gag reel begins, including Misha’s ‘on-camera finger, Jensen falling off a chair “furniture could use some work”, Jensen failing to pick a lock for a very long time and Jared asking ‘Cas” to open it, Jensen saying ‘hail misha’ instead of ‘hail mary’, Misha failing to keep a straight face while looking at Alex Calvert, Jensen eating something too hot(?), and more that someone has probably already uploaded in full anyway.

21:13 stream ends.

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argumentl · 3 years

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The Freedom of Expression, radio version - Ep 43, July 2016 - Inadequate election coverage by media, Increase in motiveless crime.

Kaoru starts this episode by saying how its still really hot. Joe mentions that its only going to get hotter over the next few weeks, and asks Kaoru if he hates Summer. Kaoru says he hates Summer and Winter. He prefers Spring and Autumn, and will absolutely not be attending any summer fireworks displays or other such summer events. Everyone has summer vacation time, so not matter where you go, its hot, and there are people everywhere. He hates this.

Kaoru then moves on to talk about the new single Utafumi, in particular the special site that has been set up for it. Upon entering the site, the phrase 3分10秒間の痛み (3mins10secs of pain) appears on screen. This short phrase gives off a kind of instant power, but Kaoru wonders what Joe actually thinks of the song. Firstly, says Joe, the song contains an effortless feel, and does have an instantaneous power to it. For some inexplicable reason, he also feels like the song is enjoyable to listen to. Joe also picks up on something that he said during his Rolling Stone interview with Kaoru the previous week, which is that Dir en grey is very multifaceted when it comes to expression. Just as there a many different angles from which to view a Picaso painting, Joe views Dir's music in the same way. He fell in love with its multi-dimensional sound after seeing the last tour and listening to Utafumi, and wants to delve deeper into it. Kaoru expresses his thanks at such words, and explains that Utafumi is a kind of step in the direction towards the new album. He asks everyone to look forward to that.

Next they welcome Tasai for the Tokyo Sports corner. The first thing Tasai does is apologise for Hiranabe bringing a young woman with him on the last show. To Tasai, its unthinkable to bring a girlfriend to work. Kaoru says he was honestly pretty shocked.

Tasai's first topic relates to the House of Councillors elections, and how all TV stations run election specials on the night after the election has finished. The tv personality Dave Spector has questioned why Japan never shows such election specials on TV before an election. Surely it would be better to get all the info out there to the voters before the election takes place? Joe elaborates on this problem by bringing up the movie 'Pacchigi!/Break through!', by director Izutsu Kazuyuki. Joe had talked with the producer of the movie, who is a Korean resident of Japan. The movie deals with the conflict between a Korean school in Japan and the local Japanese teens. The producer told Joe that advertising the movie was very tough. He had paid a lot of money to a certain tv station for a CM spot, and wanted to use a clip from the one of thr climaxes of the movie where the Korean female lead character (played by Sawajiri Erika) says to the Japanese boy who likes her, 'If you and I were to be together always, can you become Korean?'. Despite being approved by the ethics committee, the tv channel wouldn't accept it. When the movie was promoted on the radio, the director and producer pushed really hard to be able to play the Korean song 'Imjin River', which appears in the movie, but at the last minute, the radio station refused to play it. This illustrates that the media are the most conservative ones out there. Japan needs its media to change first before other change can happen. Tasai adds that there is no law forbidding detailed coverage before an election in Japan, this is entirely self imposed control. Although the likes of Ikegami Akira play an important role in bringing political issues to the forefront, there is still a large build up of frustration surrounding elections in Japan. Kaoru states that if the media did cover elections thoroughly before voting took place, they would be much easier to understand. Joe agrees, saying that if people developed an interest in the small details of the situation, it might be a catalyst for them to check out the actions of political parties in more depth. Kaoru replies that a lot more fishy businesses would come up to the surface if that was the case.

Tasai admits that there are other ways to get information, for example on the internet, but TV is still currently the big one. The only rule is that they are not allowed to tell viewers directly to vote for or not vote for a specific candidate. But there is nothing stopping them from presenting all the information there is, and telling viewers to make thier own decision before an election. Joe wonders which media outlet will ever be the first one to take this step. It will be a very important move if it happens. Tasai thinks it is currently still quite difficult for a tv station to be able to do this. He also thinks that another important point in relation to the recent election is that young people didn't vote. Kaoru agrees, and says changes in the media would make everything easier to understand for them. Tasai says that in one previous House of Councillors election, the number of voters over age 60 was 12 million, wheras the number of voters in thier 20s in the same election was only 4million. The politicians are therefore always talking about the interests of the elderly..pensions etc, which people in thier 20s don't connect with. Tasai makes a plea for any listerners of this show who are in thier 20s to please go out and vote at election time. Kaoru echoes this sentiment. Joe say politics needs to be more future facing, and brings up the case of a country who did an experiment giving voting rights to 0 year old babies. Thier parents would vote for them in a way which they thought best represented thier future interests.

Kaoru coments that an online voting system is also needed to meet the reality of this younger generation. Tasai thinks that online voting will become a possibility in the near future. Joe comments that given the advanced state of technology in this day and age, an online voting system should not be that hard to organize. At the same time, Kaoru says he does enjoy going to vote in person at the local elementary school (*voting stations are often set up at elementary schools in Japan*), because he would never have any other opportunity to go into such a building, and he finds it quite nostalgic.

Tasai's next story is about a strange incident where a ballet teacher had her thumb cut off by a man. The man knew she would be alone at the ballet studio in the morning. He entered, strangled her till she passed out, and then cut off her thumb with a chisel. He must have had some kind of reason to do this, but no-one knows why. He apparently admitted he had wanted to cut off the little finger, but the ring finger got in the way, so he cut the thumb instead. Tasai doesn't understand why anyone would do this. No-one in the man's neighborhood knows anything about him, which makes him all the more odd. Kaoru comments that even though Japan is known for being a safe country, this kind of thing still happens. Joe asks Tasai if he has seen an increase in this kind of random crime in recent years as a reporter. Tasai says he definitely has. Crimes like murders etc used to be more clear cut in thier motives, such as wanting insurance money etc, but these days there seems to be a lot more thoughtless, maningless crime going on. Joe adds that a lot of these crimes have no apparent motive or end goal. Cases are also on the rise where crimes are commited against unrelated people. Tasai says this must have something to do with the environment people grow up in these days, but what exactly it is, he can't tell. This is unlike Hiranabe, who definitely had a motive for bringing that girl to the studio last week. *wink wink*.

To finish, Kaoru plugs the new jingle campaign, and says he might play some more entries on next week's show. Lastly, he wonders how Dobashi is doing in Rio and makes the realisation that if Dobashi never returns, Hiranabe will have to appear more often instead.

Songs - Dir en grey/Red Soil, Bauhaus/Hollow Hills, Dir en grey/Utafumi.

#dir en grey #the freedom of expression #radio

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sally-mun · 4 years

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I know I mentioned in another recent post that I really want to get back to doing my “shows,” but before I can get started I have a couple of other things to finish first, one of which is working on zines. The one I’m currently working on is a Ranma ½ zine, and it’s been an interesting experience -- both because of working on the zine itself, and because of my own history with this series.

That’s right, it’s time for another rip-roarin’ Sally-mun ramble!

My first encounter with Ranma ½ was on my 15th birthday. A friend of mine, one of the only other anime fans I knew because it was still relatively unknown in the US, got me the second graphic novel, which is as much as had been officially translated at the time. Going into the story with no context was confusing to say the least, but it also intrigued me enough to look up whatever info I could find on the few stray bits of internet that covered the series, and it was enough to get me hooked.

That said, I also had kind of a difficult time being a fan, because I honestly didn’t like Ranma himself. Like, at all. I found it confusing that the author would write the protagonist to be so blatantly and outwardly unlikable, and as a result I found myself just sort of looking past him and trying to follow the lives of the other characters. I was appalled at the sort of things he would say to Akane; his constant jabbing that she’s not cute, she’s stupid, no one will ever like her because she’s a tomboy, his frequent judgements of her body... I gotta say, they really resonated with me. I couldn’t help putting myself in Akane’s shoes, and in a weird way I felt personally hurt by his insults. I really admired Akane’s strength and the fact that she never let his bullying get to her, because I know it probably would’ve destroyed me. And this is just the way he treats her; I was equally uncomfortable with the way Ranma antagonizes and harasses several other characters in the series as well. I loved the series and I enjoyed following it, but there was always this uneasy feeling inside of me anytime Ranma opened his mouth.

The last time I read or watched this series was probably in my early 20′s. I worked really hard to track down all the DVD seasons (which were exceptionally rare and expensive at the time), and once I completed my set, I felt such a relief and satisfaction that I put the story down and, it turns out, I hadn’t picked it up again since. It’s been a decade or so since I was actively engaging with this series, so when I got accepted to work on this Ranma ½ zine, I’ll admit that there was a part of me that felt a mild degree of panic. Yes, I’m still a fan, but I’m not very deep in the weeds right now; I honestly wasn’t even sure if I could decently write the characters, including and especially Ranma himself. In fact, I realized, I didn’t want to write about Ranma. I didn’t want to write about a character that I probably wouldn’t willingly spend time with in real life.

In the end, however, none of that mattered, because I signed on with this zine and I needed to be an adult and honor that commitment. Since it’s been such a long time since I’ve read or watched this series anyway, I decided to binge on the anime again for the first time in all these years. And this is why I’m writing this long-ass post tonight, because even though I’m only a couple seasons in right now, I have been absolutely shocked to find that my perspective on this story has completely changed. My teenage self can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I seem to have switched sides. I now find Ranma extremely sympathetic, and Akane to be the bully.

Although there is still a part of me that feels for her when Ranma really digs in with his insults, it pales in comparison to how upset I get with Akane over her treatment of Ranma. The fact that she’ll purposefully go as far out of her way as possible to paint Ranma as a jerk is honestly something that’s interfering with my enjoyment of the show. She does have her nice moments here and there, but if any opportunity arises for Akane to scream about Ranma doing something allegedly reprehensible, she’ll take it -- no matter how many people point out the very simple and innocent alternate explanations.

With Akane relentlessly campaigning against him, it honestly comes as no surprise anymore that Ranma snaps at her and antagonizes her. It’s about all he can do to vent his frustrations sometimes, and if she’s going to depict him as a jerk no matter what, he may as well let off some steam in the process. Ranma’s situation is difficult enough just having to deal with his curse, but then to also get forcefully engaged to someone who intentionally sees the worst in him? If anything, I’m now surprised at how much he holds back. He could easily be as nasty to her as she is to him, but he actually takes it kind of easy on her, all things considered. And don’t forget, he rarely gets a break from her; they not only live together, but also go to school together. They’re in each other’s faces all the time. I’m pretty sure I’d have had a few choice things to say to her too if I were in his shoes.

It’s even more frustrating when you consider that she doesn’t even have a good reason TO be treating him this way. This all started because of a mishap that was nobody’s fault. Ranma’s not at fault, Akane’s not at fault, NO ONE is at fault here. Ranma had no reason to believe that anyone (let alone Akane) would walk in on him getting out of the bath, and Akane had no reason to think a boy would be in there. I’m sure she felt embarrassed and violated and wronged, and I DO feel for her in that regard, but that is not his fault. If, IF, IF we’re going to assign fault to anyone, it could honestly only be hers, because one could argue that Akane could’ve at least knocked or announced herself prior to joining Ranma (as a female) in the bath. Furthermore, she doesn’t even acknowledge that this mishap went both ways, as Ranma points out himself that she got a good long look at him, too. He was just as exposed as she was, but she immediately disregards his point and tells him “it’s different when a girl sees a boy,” whatever that means.

Akane is too stubborn to admit to herself that she’s the only one you even could assign blame to, too hypocritical to acknowledge that she wasn’t the only victim, and too immature to just let the damn thing go. It’s a really bad mix that becomes the driving force behind her relationship with him from day one. Akane wants retribution for the crime she’s convinced herself that Ranma committed, so she INSISTS that he’s a no-good pervert because she’s mad that no one was on her side that day. If she couldn’t convince them then, then by god she’s going to convince them eventually, which is why she just will not fucking stop trying to paint Ranma as a perverted jerk. She takes any opportunity she gets to show off his allegedly bad intentions, because to her it’s just another step closer to getting people to see she really was justified on that first day. And Ranma is forced to keep tolerating this, day in and day out, regardless of what he does or doesn’t do.

So what does all this mean?

I think this means that this series is exceptionally well-written, more than anything. At the time that I first discovered this series, I was only marginally younger than Akane herself. I related to her so strongly that I was only capable of seeing the situation from her side, and only able to relate to her emotions and her experiences. As I stated in the beginning, I felt like Ranma’s insults hurt me personally, rather than just empathizing with Akane for him hurting her. This tells me that, for all of her faults, Akane is exceptionally on-point for a girl in her mid-teens. Yes, she’s being immature and petty and unreasonable, but she’s also only 16. That’s how we are at that age, and sometimes it’s easy to forget about that once you grow past it. Teenage years are that shitty point in your life where you feel like you’re so sure that you’ve FINALLY got everything figured out, when in reality you aren’t even capable of understanding the depth of how much you don’t know. Akane holds her grudge against Ranma because she’s so sure she’s right, and she’s determined to find validation for that if it’s the last thing she does, because that’s how most of us viewed the world at 16.

But that’s one of the things that makes my revisit to this series so extraordinary: Akane’s not able to grow and change, but I am. I’ll never be able to view the series the same way I did as a teenager, because I’ve had so many new experiences and so much time to grow since then. I can certainly remember the point of view I had and why, but I’ll never actually have that same view again. I’ve learned so much more about the world, about people and relationships, about morals and ethics... all kinds of things that she can’t, because she’s necessarily frozen in time as a character in a story. Akane doesn’t get to evolve with her readers over the years, and it makes for a fascinating snapshot of where I was mentally and emotionally at that time.

I think the biggest and most critical difference between then and now is my self-esteem. When I first connected with this series, I had basically no love for myself and no confidence that anyone else would ever see anything valuable in me. I was in a place where it was not only very easy for words to hurt me, but for those words to stick with me, sometimes for years after the fact. Ranma, despite simply being a character in a book, was effortlessly able to hurt me on a particularly deep level because that’s how delicate I was at the time of reading it. He hurt me so much that I was completely unable to see his point of view; all I could see was someone being cruel for seemingly no reason, and as such I saw Akane’s treatment of him as completely justified.

20 years later, however, it now reads as a completely different story. I don’t share Akane’s kneejerk reaction to these situations anymore, and I’m more focused on thought process and reasoning. I’m more able to recognize when I’m missing information and need to investigate more, more accountable for when I’ve done something wrong, and more willing to let small things go. Hell, I have a better understanding of what “small things” even are. When I was Akane’s age, none of the incidents happening in the story seemed like small things, but now? Now I just don’t have time for that kind of minutia. It’s... wait for it... childish. Because teenagers are still children, no matter how much we didn’t want to admit it at that time.

But that’s part of the genius of how this series is written. Not only did I instantly fall into the same mental trap as Akane when I WAS her age, but now that I’m not anymore, I look back on it as just kids getting wrapped up in their microcosm of the world. No matter how much I get frustrated at Akane for being horrible to Ranma, I can’t not admit to myself that she’s not an adult yet, so in some way it’s me being the unreasonable one by trying to hold her to adult expectations. She’s still got a lot to learn because she’s still just a kid. I literally used to be just like her at one point in my life. If I was able to mature past that sort of behavior, then I’d like to think that, if Akane were able to age, then she probably would one day too.

#Ranma 1/2 #Akane Tendo #THIS WENT ON FOR A WHILE SORRY #might end up being an article later #we'll see

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curious-minx · 4 years

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The Divine Hustle

Do the hustle(!)

Working yourself to the death has never been so glamours!

To live in America is to play by the business savvy handbook. America has never been a country of a wholesome omniloving God, instead the USA has always been the land of fleeced pockets. Much of America has fetishized the concept of “Hard Work” from the Puritantical Protestants to the Bootstrap pulling fantasia sprung from the Industrial Age. Some business CEOs even go as far to reinvent history by putting the word “Hustle” into Abraham Lincoln’s mouth:

“Things may come to those who wait … but only the things left by those who hustle.”

An actual quote from our Hardest Working President Business

Yes, Lincoln the original Tall King, the first Presidential White Saviour, a Myth more than Man, the living embodiment of a Pull Yourself By the Bootstraps Aesop fable. He needed that stove pipe hat to hide his vast quantity of hustle. I can see why a Business CEO type would be tickled by this fake quote. Lincoln’s legal work had him making more money at times than that of a prominent State Governor. There are reasons why he’s a Money Man. So tell me, Encyclopedia Britannica why would Lincoln feel the drive to accumulate this money and capital? Does it stem from Abraham Lincoln’s insecurities and low self-esteem from coming from a low income background? EB offers us none such info but it does lean heavily into Mary Todd Lincoln being a questionable influence on Lincoln. The EB is quick to file MTL as being the Insane, Difficult Woman who has developed an “obsessive need to spend money.” Of course, Lincoln had to make all of this money in order to pay for his expensive crazy wife. Makes perfect sense if I am someone completely stoned and drunk from hagiography and cute, quaint reductive views of history.

Lincoln’s business savviness is made abundantly clear in his failed presidential campaign against Douglas. He published personally curated debate transcripts and his own Biography to hawk on the campaign trail. The acute self-awareness of his own remarkableness is perhaps one of Lincoln’s main shortcomings and strengths. The man worked himself into a frenzy, constantly looked emaciated and worn down, and for what? The one few times he tries to take in one of his only pleasures in life, The Arts, he gets murdered. The Capitalist Mythmakers want us to forget about all of that. Abraham Lincoln worked because he loved to work and he was a good American, therefore if you want to be a good American like Lincoln, you’ll work the Hustle.

Yes, this essay has been nothing but the ramblings of someone pretending like they know what they are talking about, but everytime I see the word “Hustle,” exclusively when it’s being used in terms of celebrating hyper capitalist America another part of me dies.

////

Wow, the people look meaningless from up here.

The New York Hustle. The Detroit Hustle. To do these hustles once meant finding a dancing partner for the night and telling the 4/4 rhythm, “4 steps are fine, but six steps are even better.” Now the New York Hustle is working three unpaid internships with the promise that a slightly underpaid gig could be on the way. All language inevitAbly changes and evolves, but that doesn’t mean I have to be okay about it. The modern hustle is the joy killer. The modern hustle is pushing and shoving fellow hustlers over the faint whiff of dining room scraps. To hustle is to continue to believe in your own self mythology so hard that you too can become your personal Lincoln. An emaciated, husk working for the Good of the Company, er, I mean Nation. Maybe a scuzzy Matthew McConaughey will give you a spin. That’s sure to make any hard worker smile before she collapses.

/////

Have you ever seen a side hustle news filler story that didn’t make you want to walk into a murky ocean’s depths? One Google “News” search of the term hustle brings up this article about a New Zealand Woman supposedly planning slumber parties during Covid times. One can only assume that this is the case because the article (sourced from the highly reputable looking Stuff.co) despite being published in February 2021 makes no reference to the pandemic. This is because New Zealand has already moved well beyond those covid days. Covid slumber party nightmares aside, the idea of hiring a professional slumber party planner in or out of Covid times is a brazenly gross idea. The extent of “planning” that should go into a slumber party is how much should you tip the pizza delivery driver, how many boxes of brownie mix, and maybe the one job I could jokingly fathom hiring a person for is choosing what regrettable movie a kid should watch at a slumber party.

Slumber parties are for children, and can easily be planned and arranged by a child. There should never be a need to outsource “Harrypotter glam” themed teepees and treats. Maybe that’s the kind of life people in New Zealand want to lead and if certain individuals want to have that ambitious drive to make a ridiculous small company they should be free to do so. The sinister creeping reality is that the standards of the Exceptional Money Making Individual are becoming the standards everyone is expected to live up to. Passion for the sake of passion, and art for the sake of art is getting the squeeze in favor of monetizing slumber parties.

Monetizing off of Twitter followers. Monetizing off of newsletters. Monetizing off of podcasts. Content creation for the sake of profit is basically the main reason the Internet exists anymore. If you have something you love to do in your life like the act of reading a book you better be willing to invest in a USB microphone and recording booth to start your audio book reading career because otherwise you’re just reading a book. You’re just playing a video game when you could be streaming yourself for all of your adoring fans and followers. I could be thinking, but instead I’m tweeting.

I do not respect the Hustle. I respect differences and a variety of lifestyles. I respect Passion and drive. I do not respect the Hustle, because the side hustle is just a full-time job the capitalist system is trying to make you consider a “side” project. One look at this exhaustive CNBC “The ultimate side hustle guide for 2021”, and what they are describing is not a side hustle but starting your own small business. They are not the same thing. A side hustle should not require an immense amount of time, personal wealth, and the possible necessity of hiring a freelancer and tax analysts to start when you are already working a full-time job and/or participating in the American Breeding Dream.

I know that I am lazy compared to many over working Americans. I am already in my late twenties and still staunchly refuse to engage in American Adult Tie Sensitive Checklist. I would like to work, truly I do. I would love nothing more than to be in possession of a job in a safe and humane company that legitimately favored Human Kindness and Decency over the Grind. Working for a company that didn’t feel like the sole purpose of its existence is to make more and more money.. I am trying to minimize. I am trying not to let other people’s perceptions clutter and crowd out my mind. I am trying to survive through this pandemic that has completely melted what little brains and physical strength I had. I will not stop trying to do the Divine Hustle.

Let’s just appreciate this blurry picture of Divine being eaten by a lobster and call it a day.

#hustle #side hustle #economy #personal essay #capitalism #employment #employee #work #america #divine #John waters #Abraham lincoln #lincoln #president lincoln

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raendown · 4 years

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Last couple days were posted one a sideblog but we’re back to main for day 5 of @narutorarepairweek. Today’s prompt is arranged marriage.

Pairing: ShinoKarin Word count 3359 Rated: G Summary: The war left them all tired and she was far from the only one who had no other place to go. When offered a second chance Karin takes it. It's not the life she asked for, not the life she wanted, but time marches on and the places we stay have a way of becoming home when we least expect it.

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The After Wife

Karin had never given much thought to her wedding day. Even in the sad year she had spent following Sasuke around and mooning over his every word there had been a voice in the back of her mind that knew it would never happen, never let her fantasies go beyond the now. If she had ever given the occasion any thought she liked to think that this was not what she would have imagined.

The little girl deep in her heart cried out that she deserved better than a perfunctory informal ceremony alone in the Hokage’s office, no uchikake but the white dust of travel staining her clothing and no attendants but the two council members standing witness. She deserved more than marrying a man she barely knew the name of to secure herself a home in a place that didn’t want her. And yet here she stood while the Godaime Hokage spoke the bare minimum phrases needed to bind her future to another.

What else was new?

As shitty as the situation was, however, there were several different points which stayed her tongue and stiffened her muscles against the urge to flee. Naruto was the first and biggest reason. The only person who had ever looked at her and truly wanted to know her. He was family, distant and far removed, but a blood relation. She hadn’t known any family since the last of her own gave their life to save another in the depths of Kusagakure. From that day on she had been nothing but an asset, an advantage. Yet Naruto looked at her and saw only the bond he hoped might someday grow between them. The siren call of affection given so freely was embarrassingly difficult to resist after the life she had led.

The second reason that held back the barbs at the edge of her tongue was the idea of rest. Simple and plain, Karin was tired of running. Tired of living her life uncertain of where her steps would take her next and tired of fighting for her right to stay in one place long enough to put down even the weakest of roots. Working for that snake Orochimaru hadn’t been pleasant but it had been the closest thing she could remember to having a place to go back to. Konohagakure had offered her a home and Karin, reluctant and full of pride, wanted so badly to open her hand and accept that offer. Wanted it to be possible more than she was willing to let any of these people know.

Her third reason was much less optimistic than the other two. Her actions during the fourth shinobi war and in the years leading up to it had branded her a criminal. By all rights she should have been left to rot in the jail of whichever village won the right to punish her first. Instead Naruto had campaigned for her release along with several others on the condition they be rehabilitated. This was far and away the best possible option, the road which led to the least misery in her future. So while she was of the private opinion that whoever decided her rehabilitation should include being married off to a clan head was losing their marbles Karin had decided, after much thought, that resistance could only hurt her now.

She didn’t really have many expectations for what married life would be like, not having known her husband until they were corralled in to a room together and legally bound, yet Aburame Shino somehow managed to subvert them anyway. Right from the start she was handed surprises as she learned that not only was Shino unperturbed to be married away to a stranger, he had actually volunteered.

“I find this to be a good solution,” he’d told her. Then he must have seen her naked confusion as he quickly added, “Why? Because my elders had been asking me to find a wife for years now and you need a home. This is a good thing for both of us.”

Karin honestly hadn’t known what to say to that but she was grateful not to deal with someone angry at the very sight of her. His honesty had set the tone for a surprisingly harmonious coexistence. Although they did sleep in the same room Shino easily agreed to separate futons and never once asked more from her than she was willing to give, not even so much as a kiss. They ate their meals together and he complimented her cooking when it was her turn to do so but for the most part they spent their days entirely separate as he went about his business and left Karin to hers.

That wasn’t to say they never spent any time together, although it took the better part of a year for her to even realize that he was doing so. Shino was an unassuming man. Enough so that it was all too easy to underestimate just how subtle and sneaky he could be. It never occurred to her to question the nights he chose to stay in at home, choosing a book and settling in the library where she also spent most of her evenings. She thought little of the absent questions that more often than not drew her in to long conversations before one or both of them yawned their way to bed. Nothing about their situation seemed out of the ordinary until she ran in to Sakura while working at the hospital as part of the mandatory community service that was a condition of being allowed to stay in the village, greeting her one time rival for an undeserving man’s love with a cautious hello. Sakura’s smile for her was surprisingly warm.

“How’s married life been?” the other woman asked. “I don’t see Shino around much these days. Or anyone, really. I’m so busy here!”

“Life’s fine.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Karin realized that she meant them and that was enough of a shock that Sakura was able to chatter over her for several minutes, going on about a bunch of people she honestly didn’t care about. Just because they were Shino’s friends didn’t mean they were hers. He was smart enough not to force her to socialize when she didn’t want to – and since she knew the general opinion most people had of her here she really didn’t want to socialize with most of them.

When Sakura started bemoaning how their busy lives kept her and Naruto apart most days and how they didn’t get to spend much time together Karin rolled her eyes.

“Seriously? The two of you married for love and I see more of my husband than you do yours?”

The other woman looked at her strangely. “Really? The last I heard of him Shino was screaming busy helping Iruka-sensei overhaul the academy curriculum. Oh but that’s so sweet that he still makes time for you! I’m ashamed to say I never expected he would make such a good husband.”

“A-ah…”

“Sakura-sensei! Come quick! It’s Yuzuki-san!”

“Oh! I have to run!” Sakura turned on her heel and dashed off towards wherever that voice had called from. “Let’s talk again soon!”

Karin didn’t even bother to wave. Her head was spinning, hands lifting on muscle memory as she went back to her own work scrubbing floors in a daze. It wasn’t like she ignored Shino when he spoke to her. She listened very carefully. But she’d never realized that he was quite so busy, enough so that he needed to consciously make the time to come and sit with her in the quiet library where sometimes she didn’t even bother to engage his attempts at conversation.

Community service brought her all over the village doing all sorts of different jobs so there was really no telling what time she would be heading home on any given day. By some kindness of fate it just so happened that she finished today a little before the academy would be letting their students go from final classes. With shame and embarrassment roiling together until she was able to translate them in to indignation, Karin set her feet marching along a path she had only ever walked the one time she was asked to clean out some old classrooms. The closer she got the easier it became to ignore the thousands of chakra signatures around her and focus in on the one she had come to associate with calm and safety without even knowing she was doing so.

She didn’t really have a plan. Karin had always been a woman of emotion and right now her emotions were telling her to go confront her husband. She would figure out what exactly she was confronting him about when she got there. Or that was her line of thinking until she paused halfway across the grassy yard, catching sight of him through an open window and drifting over like a magnet to a lodestone.

Despite the utter chaos of children up and moving about the room seemingly without order Shino stood by the front with a contented smile underneath the visor he wore to protect his eyes from bright lights. With both arms in the air he directed his students like a conductor, voice ringing out his instructions with confidence.

It was a side of him that she had never seen before – or rather that she had never taken the time to see. Shino had taken her in and given her a home, played the part of accommodating husband more perfectly than she could have ever hoped for, and Karin could only think that all she’d given him in return was a few measly conversations whenever she felt like making the effort. Not once had she ever considered whether he might just want to talk after a stressful day. Sure there were other people he could have gone to and she’d assumed all along that’s what he would do but if he chose to seek comfort in her, the wife who was meant to share his life and home? He deserved better than she gave him. He'd certainly given her better in turn.

Whatever energy had brought her marching across the village drained away as she watched her husband at work for the first time. She was almost disappointed when the bell rang and he began to herd the children towards their cubby holes at the back of the room for boots and coats, calling instructions for the night’s homework over the noise. His gaze hadn’t even once strayed towards the window and for a few moments she wondered which exit she would have to meet him at as he left for home. Following his chakra wouldn’t exactly be hard. Then his head turned sideways to look directly at her without warning and Karin was ashamed of the squeak that slipped out between her lips.

Beetles. She’d forgotten about the beetles, thousands of eyes watching the world on his behalf.

He tilted his head but without being able to see the eyes behind his visor Karin was left with nothing but the flavor of curiosity in his warm signature, rooted to the spot while he picked his way across the room to stand on the other side of the open window with hands folded behind his back.

“What brings you here?” he asked in his quiet, unassuming voice.

“I…oh. Should I not have? Do you have work left?” Not having been granted the honor of actually attending the academy in her own home village, she realized suddenly that she had very little idea of what a typical day’s schedule might include for either the students or the teachers. Thankfully Shino looked anything but irritated. It took quite a bit to irritate him, actually, something she had appreciated from the very beginning.

“Yes I have much left to do. Why? Because the children handed in two different assignments today that require marking.” His head tilted ever so slightly again before going on. “If you would prefer, I can finish such work at home.”

Karin shifted her weight and looked away, uncomfortable. What right did she have to ask anything of him? Yet still she heard her own voice answering as quietly as she hadn’t heard herself in years. “Yes. I would prefer you to come home. Please.”

Obviously both of them knew that she had tacked on that last bit as no more than an afterthought. Manners were hardly second nature to her. The last thing she had worried about growing up was learning how to be proper and polite, not when she’d been taught that the way to get something out of life was to be tough and strong, to demand whatever attention and respect she felt she deserved. Life in Konoha hadn’t exactly gained her much respect and the last thing she usually wanted these days was anyone’s attention.

With Shino that was different. Feeling his eyes on her was not a weight she needed to bear up under but a blanket of warmth against the often cold realities that had been her life so far. He was a break against the wind, a mercy, a place to rest. Until that moment staring at him through an open window Karin hadn’t truly understood how much she’d come to think of him as home. Not just that he had given her one but that he, the man, the husband, had become the home she wanted to come back to. It was not a revelation she was prepared to confront. Thankfully he didn’t seem as though he required any explanations at the moment. Even as her thoughts spun and the earth seemed to tilt beneath her feet Shino was nodding and turning to gather the piles of messy assignment papers from his desk, sealing them all in to a single scroll before heading back towards the window.

“May I walk with you?” he asked.

“I…yes?” It seemed a silly question. They were going to the same place, after all. Refusing him would mean walking along the same path anyway but keeping a few paces between them and the very idea of it was ridiculous.

Still, her answer seemed to please him. The smile that curled his lips this time was the sort of soft contentment he usually wore in the evenings as they whiled away the evening shadows in light conversation. Karin was ashamed to admit that it took until they were halfway home, turning from one deserted pathway down another, that she understood his question.

“Were you flirting with me!?” she demanded, almost proud that he didn’t so much as flinch at her sudden outburst. Of course she was also immediately infuriated that he didn’t have the decency to blush along with his simple nod.

“I was.”

“Have you done that before!?”

“I have.”

“When!?”

Shino hummed like he was counting the moments she had inexplicably missed. “Often.”

It was almost offensive how calm he remained while she spluttered and choked on her own surprise. The rest of the walk home was stiflingly quiet. A truly staggering amount of thoughts chased each other through her mind but none of them were able to stick for very long before getting chased away by several more. Karin’s emotions were in a right mess when they made it home, confused and muddled and twisted in a way unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Shino led them in to the library and paused next to his usual seat with a serene air. It wasn’t until he reached up to remove the visor shielding his eyes from the outside world that finally words began to tumble over each other past her lips.

“You flirt with me?” Her tone was a question but she had barely let him nod before she was going on. “I don’t get it. Why? You didn’t want to marry me, you just wanted someone to make your clan elders shut up and leave you alone and I just wanted a–” A home. The word stuck in her throat but he seemed to understand.

“Does it bother you?”

“N-no, don’t be stupid. Why would it bother me? It’s just…flirting.” Never in her life had she heard her own voice sound quite so unsteady.

Shino’s dark, multi-faceted eyes blinked slowly. “Why? Because we are married and I have come to enjoy your company. Because you are my wife and you deserve to be cherished as a wife should be. Because your laughter is hard to earn and all the more precious for it. That is why.”

“Oh,” Karin breathed. “Oh.”

In the time since she had come to this place she had felt like many things. A pretender, unwanted, unneeded, bored, caged, yet despite all those content was much more frequent as of late. Shino’s quiet words rocked her as for the first time she felt something she hadn’t before, not in all the years she spent clawing and scratching out a place for herself in the cruel uncaring world. She felt like a woman. Desired. Wanted for no reason other than her own merits as a human being.

“Do it again,” she demanded softly and it made Shino smile.

“You wish for me to flirt with you?” When she nodded stiffly he echoed the gesture with a serious air. “Very well. Shall I tell you how beautiful I find you? How the scent of you fills our home and eases away all worries of the world outside? Should I tell you that this life we have together is a happy one that I am grateful to have been gifted with?”

“By the kami, I didn’t expect you to lay it on so thick!” Karin covered her face with both hands, mortified to realize her cheeks were warm.

“Ah, my apologies. I sought only to fulfil my wife’s request.”

It took a minute or two before she had collected herself enough to peek out between her fingers but when she did her gaze was as contemplative as his was amused. The shock that had flavored every emotion since her conversation with Sakura faded enough at last that she was able to think past it to possibilities that she could have never imagined before.

“Fulfill my request huh?” Slowly letting her arms fall to her sides, Karin took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. “Well then I have an actual request for you. Um…dinner. If- if you’re going to do this backwards and court me after we’re already married then you should at least do it right. Taking me out to dinner would be a good start.” Though her cheeks felt like they had caught fire Karin stubbornly kept her chin up to watch the curl of Shino’s lips, something deeply content settling in the eyes he showed to so few people. How long had he been falling in love without her noticing?

“Dinner would be my pleasure,” he replied simply.

It would also be hers, she was startled to realize. This wasn’t the fairy tale most girls dreamed of but Karin wasn’t quite as surprised as she should be finally coming to terms with the fact that perhaps this life wasn’t really so bad. Perhaps her husband wasn’t the only one that she hadn’t noticed getting attached.

When she pulled her chair over to sit a little closer that night Shino said nothing about it. And when they went to bed and he held out a hand she laid down to sleep on the same futon as her husband for the very first time without saying a word herself. Their marriage might have been arranged but it was odd to think that the relationship between themselves was only theirs to define. Karin couldn’t remember the last time she’d been handed such control over her own future.

She’d never given much thought to her wedding day but maybe it was time she started thinking about how she wanted to love the rest of her life. If she was allowed her say then it was going to be happy.

#narutorarepairweek2020 #rae writes #shikarin #shinokarin #shino #karin #sakura #fanfiction

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browserbroking331 · 4 years

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When should i buy a new gaming monitor

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