#it's the headology

[scribefindegil]

Reigen as a con-man/scammer is just so funny and interesting too, because he is also very genuine about helping people. Like, he looks down on the scammers who just confirm a problem or take others’ money and don’t actually try to do anything about their problem.

Like most of the cases he gets and handles are mundane, and he actually handles it while validating what his customer thinks is going on and not calling them crazy or anything.

And then on the other hand, he is very much about the money. No question about it.

See, the thing about Reigen that is so funny and kind of endearing is that he could make so much more money doing almost Anything Else?? The man has plenty of marketable skills! Clearly he was miserable in his water cooler sales job but I'm sure he was good at it, and was probably making more money there than he does with S&S. He wildly (wildly!) undercharges compared to every other psychic. He has canonically accepted vegetable seeds as payment.

Like. He acts like he's all about the money. I think he believes that he's all about the money. But when you look at the evidence . . . he is not. Honestly he should probably raise his prices.

But yeah! He genuinely likes helping people! He's good at his job! We tend to focus on the spirit cases because they're the most Dramatic, but the vast majority of clients don't have anything actually spiritual going on. They have problems that Reigen can solve (And his esper employees can't! Which is really important thematically!!)

Like, yes, he's constantly lying to people. Yes, he feels like he has a duty to actually help his clients solve their problems. Yes, he is blatantly violating child labor laws and taking advantage of a kid to help his business. Yes, he loves that kid more than life itself.

He's perfect. He's a mess. I love him.

[stellarmeals]

Discworld inktober day 22 - Esmerelda Weatherwax

Granny Weatherwax was the strongest witch in the Discworld books. When Sir Terry Pratchett found out he was dying, he needed to say goodbye to his fans. He did that through the passing of the beloved character of Granny Weatherwax in “The Shepherd’s Crown”

Even though when he was already gone when I started reading the discworld books, it was still very heartbreaking. She also kept bees as part of her specialty and after she passed, her protégé had to tell the bees. I’ve always felt like us the readers were Sir Terry’s bees.

RIP Mistress Weatherwax

[running-on-narrativium]

Y’know, it’s a shame that we never got to see an actual interaction between Fred and his wife in the Discworld books. I mean, we *hear* about them interacting and get an idea of what their relationship is like from that, and I also understand it’s a part of the joke about them being so busy they communicate through notes they leave for each other, but still. We don’t even learn the woman’s first name.

Yet, despite this I’ve managed to piece together what little information we’re get about her throughout the Watch books to get a general idea about what she’s like and what she does that keeps her so busy all the time. So, let’s review what we do know for sure about this woman of mystery.

She has a job that keeps her extremely busy.

She’s been doing said job for at least as long as she’s been married to Fred.

She is one of the few people that will directly call out Sergeant Colon when he’s being an idiot.

She and Fred have kids and grandchildren.

She seems to enjoy interior decorating.

She can cook well.

She most likely has known Sam since he joined the Watch and Nobby since he was a kid. Also, at this point it’s fair to assume she’s met the other important watchmen as well. (Carrot, Angua, Detritus, Cheery, etc.)

Personality-wise, I’d say she’s a nice but a very no nonsense type of person. Patient, but only to a certain point. Very hard worker and tends to get absorbed in her job. She obviously loves her husband, but she can get easily exasperated with him. Her feelings about him are probably best summed up with something like: He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot.

As far as her work goes, I think she’s either an antique dealer or an interior designer. This is because an interesting little detail I picked up on in Jingo. Fred brings her back souvenirs (which is really sweet tbh) and they’re furniture/decorating stuff. Plus it’s mentioned in the books that’s she often asks Fred’s help decorating their house and moving furniture. So if she’s an interior designer, she might sometimes keep some of the furniture she uses for her clients there, and if she’s and antique dealer she might run her business from their house. After all owning a proper shop is expensive and Ankh-Morpork is low on space.

[creature-wizard]

Basically I don't believe in the Law of Assumption, but I am a very firm believer in headology and think that the LOA has a few things that could be utilized within a headological paradigm.

[pratchettquotes]

"Do you think I used magic?"

Esk looked down at the queen bee. She looked up at the witch.

"No," she said. "I think you just know a lot about bees."

Granny grinned.

"Exactly correct. That's one form of magic, of course."

"What, just knowing things?"

"Knowing things that other people don't know," said Granny.

Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

[annaholak]

"Esme Weatherwax! If that finger comes anywhere near your ear, I swear to God, I'm never playing cards with you again!" (Gytha)

"Which god?" (Esme)

"Whichever's listening. Now, are you in or out?" (Gytha)

Inktober - Prompt 20: Bluff

[dungeonmalcontent]

Another slow day with just one doc, but this time it's not an encounter. Rather, it is a class option.

Druid: Circle of Witchcraft

Now I know I'm not the first person to homebrew a druid themed like a witch. It isn't a particularly common combination of ideas, but it has been done before. But I have not found such a subclass (or really even a class option at all) that makes a witch for 5e that feels like a witch from Discworld. This is what that is. A subclass that can genuinely make a Granny Weatherwax.

A Discworld witch; complete with headology, borrowing, and "the look". A relatively "low magic" option, this subclass is perfect for players that want to lean into their Wisdom stat and do more RP than combat. Druids are good at combat, no subclass required, but they do fall short when it comes to social encounters (IMO)—this definitely patches that.

This short doc is only 0.75 of DMsGuild, which is how I think I'll be pricing all standalone subclasses. And I plan to make quite a few subclasses.

[pourablecat]

My brain vortex of "what if the witches were cowboys" devolved into an Actual Herder Tiffany doodle

[qserasera]

just musing on why competent / hypercompetent protagonist characters seem so hard to write in fiction and why

(characters i feel like i can classify within this category: most characters in fma, mei changsu from nif, minglan from story of minglan, geralt from the witcher, most of terry pratchett's protagonists)

[confusedbyinterface]

I just noticed something.

Beatrice and Magrat Garlick (at least her cartoon design) have pretty much the same hairstyle, except Magrat wears her hear long in the back instead of tying it all up as a bun

Since she doesn't have the bun she's got a silver moon hairclip and just wears a small flower over her ear instead of a gigantic rose fascinator.

[notfromcold]

Interior Decorating

The merchant captain wasn't sure what he'd expected from Blackbeard's office, but he had to admit it left an impression. The impression was mainly one of dread. Lots of dread.

But it was curious... in the light of the candles he could make out books and ledgers, charts and what appeared to be sheet music. Blackbeard was... well, it was odd to think of Blackbeard as someone with interests and little projects...

Blackbeard himself interrupted this train of thought, kicking the door closed and walking slowly towards the captain. The captain tried to swallow nervously but he found his mouth was dry.

Blackbeard smiled. "Have a seat." And his shockingly expressive eyes cut almost imperceptibly to the chair in the corner; the chair with all the spikes.

The captain opened his mouth. He was pretty sure he was about to say something like "please -"

Blackbeard cut him off, pulling a perfectly normal padded chair in front of the desk and gesturing that the captain should sit. "Please," Blackbeard said, crossing to his own chair. "After you."

His heart in his throat, the captain sat. "What... what do you want to know?"

[dreadlord-mr-son]

Among the best advice I’ve ever got for improving my social relationships and reducing beating myself up, was replacing apologies with thanks.

Instead of “Sorry I’m late.” -> “Thanks for waiting.” Instead of “Sorry I’m rambling.” -> “Thanks for listening.”

This de-emphasizes “I’ve dome something wrong” and emphasizes your appreciation for the other person. That instead of you doing something requiring an apology, they did something nice.

It’s actually fairly subtle? But it adds up. And the more you do it, the more automatic it becomes.

Thanks for listening. Thanks for being there. Thanks for waiting. Thanks for your time. Thanks for showing up.

Here’s something I just said to a friend on Discord: Haaa, thanks for letting me bounce my thoughts off you btw Lemme know if it's ever too much

I was rambling on about my Colony AU fanfic and an idea I had for it. And I started to feel bad. I was talking and talking and they were barely responding. I was starting to feel like I was being boring or annoying. So I stopped and said... thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for letting me talk to you about this thing I’m so passionate about. And I opened room for setting a boundary in the future. Let me know if it’s too much.

Let’s imagine an alternative phrasing that might be very familiar to some of you: Sorry for talking so much Feel free to tell me to shut up

Compare the two version for a few moments. How much different is that energy? Which would you rather see from a friend you love who’s very anxious? Which do you think your friends would rather hear from you? They probably love hearing you talk. They don’t want you to feel like you’re some annoying trash who should just shut up.

I’m working on it. If you find yourself saying “sorry” all the time over minor things just in case you’re upsetting someone?

Consider saying “thanks”, instead.

[mandrake1973]

Your house is on fire, what’s the first thing you’d try to take out?

[running-on-narrativium]

I’d kill for Discworld and Owl House Crossover. The idea of Tiffany Aching and Luz Noceda becoming friends is so adorable, and Eda meeting the Lancre Coven would be amazing. Her and Nanny Ogg would definitely hit it off, though I’m not too sure she’d get along with Granny Weatherwax. I can either see them bonding over their apprentices becoming friends or fighting because they’re both stubborn af with very opposing views on magic. Let’s be real, we all know Granny would probably dislike most of the magic done in the Boiling Isles since it kind of borders on wizard magic and “occult nonsense” when compared to the witchcraft she prefers. Eda would probably think Granny is too uptight and get annoyed by that testing thing she always does with everyone, and you can bet she wouldn’t do that witch thing where they act overly polite and formal with each other when they really dislike someone. Eda can’t be having with that. If she hates your guts, she’ll tell you. She would probably be interested in that borrowing thing Granny does though.

Of course she’d love the Feegles, Eda would feel like they’d have a lot to learn from each other. Like, how to get into places or the joys of drinking apple blood.

Then there’s Willow and Magrat bonding over their plant knowledge and you can bet she’d be interested in learning about the Palismans too.

Lilith and Miss Tick would get along famously, I think. I feel like they share a lot of similar interests.

And could you imagine Agnes discovering Bard Magic?

[creature-wizard]

how do you not fall back into a people pleasing mentality? I’m trying to be kinder to others but I’m always yo-yoing between complete asshole and pathetic people pleaser.

Here's my take on it:

Practice, practice, practice!

You begin by deciding what some of your boundaries are, and what you'd like to be more assertive about. And then you can write down some things you might say when you're asserting your boundaries and expressing your needs; EG,

"I will do that later, I am busy right now."

"Sorry, I'm exhausted and need to rest now."

"Sorry, I'm afraid I'm not comfortable with that."

"I need to go and rest right now, see you later."

"I'm sorry, but I'm having a bad brain time and need to take a break."

"I have other things planned, sorry."

"I need to get a snack right now, so please excuse me."

In the privacy of your room, you can practice standing big and tall as you picture saying these things to someone else. Straighten your spine and shoulders, put your feet at shoulder width apart, and so on.

And then when you are interacting with real people, make an effort to assert yourself more often. Always try to straighten your shoulders and spine, even if it's an online interaction; it helps. If you like, you can also channel the "energy" of the most confident, assertive figure you can imagine; simply imagine their power filling you and "become" them. Whether this is actually magical or merely psychological, it can be helpful to do.

Always remember that the people worth having around will respect your boundaries. The ones who don't respect your boundaries, who act like you're being unfair, childish, or whatever, are not worth having around, and if they leave you, then good riddance!

[pratchettquotes]

"Well," she said, "it seems to me--"

"Yes?" said Granny.

"It seems to me," Magrat tried again, "that the only magic we do is all--well, headology. Not what anyone else would call magic. It's just glaring at people and tricking them. Taking advantage of their gullibility. It wasn't what I expected when I set out to become a witch--"

"And who says," said Granny Weatherwax, slowly and deliberately, "that you've become a witch now?"

"My word, the wind is getting up, perhaps we should--" said Nanny Ogg.

"What did you say?" said Magrat.

Nanny Ogg put her hand over her eyes. Asking someone to repeat a phrase you'd not only heard very clearly but were also exceedingly angry about was around Defcon II in the lexicon of squabble.

Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad