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tau1tvec · 1 year ago

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Some tips for The Sims 3 Buy/Build

Install LazyDuchess’ Smooth Patch to alleviate lag, esp in Buy/Build and CAS.

Keep your CC merged and organized, esp your patterns, this will also alleviate a lotta lag across all modes.

When building on community lots, or any lot rlly, avoid going to the edit world menu, and just put testingcheats enabled into the cheat window, then shift+click the ground of the lot to enter Buy/Build mode. This makes leaving it to save a lot easier, with less “preparing” screens to possibly get hung up in.

Lower your settings, you don’t need any adjacent lots loaded, and you certainly don’t need super water on either. You can always switch these back on when you’re done.

While you’re at it, remove your HQ mod, and turn off your Reshade/Gshade preset, or at least turn off your depth shaders. I only ever turn on my depth shaders when I’m taking screenshots for better fps while playing. The DoF shader esp requires a lotta resources your game could be using to simulate all those 78 townie sims instead.

Save as… vs Save, I Save as… at least every third save. It’s also just good habit to keep backups.

When using the CASt tool, set down everything you plan to CASt first, then switch to a category like the wall tool to avoid eventual lag and drag when using it a lot. Love yourself. You don’t have to suffer using CASt tool in an overpopulated category like misc deco.

Utilize the clone option through testing cheats to duplicate already CASted objects, it’ll keep your design just like the dropper tool, but it’s a lot less time consuming, I promise.

Don’t be afraid to use the swatch save tool for objects you use often, esp community lot objects, as it helps to keep your aesthetic consistent. I also keep all of my favorite streetlamps, benches, and public trash bins etc in a convenient custom collection folder to speed up the process of doing multiple lots in one sitting. These handy tools are there, use them.

The issue with custom counters. They mess up sometimes, if you can’t recolor it suddenly, here’s how to fix that. Now if you can’t place down a cupboard suddenly, even though nothing’s in the way, and you’ve got moveobjects on activated, try putting it on the wall a tile over, and then try adding it to your desired spot again. Lastly if you set down counters or cupboards at a corner, and it messes up the textures, but you can still recolor it, you could do what the video I linked above does, or you could simply pull out the CASt tool, and switch it back to any of its original swatches and click the check, then feel free to recolor it as you want.

Railings will also do the “can’t recolor” trick too, but this is a simple fix, just delete it, and replace it, and you’re good.

“Oh no, I switched between buy and build mode, and now my catalogue won’t load, and I can’t click on anything at all!” Don’t panic, hit F2 and/or F3 on your keyboard, these are shortcuts for switching between them, and if you’re lucky it’ll load properly again. Should you get the bug where you load a category and it’s somehow empty, don’t fret, just click on a different category and this should fix it. Then if you get the bug where all the objects you put down disappear suddenly, sorry your game is haunted. Call an exorcist, or just reload, they might reappear if you do.

Tbh, if you run into any kind of major bugs, it’s likely a sign to either save immediately or just restart your game. These only ever show up when you’ve been at it a while ( at least for me ), therefore starting fresh wouldn’t hurt. Probably also wouldn’t hurt to check whether you might’ve installed something the game didn’t agree with by running Dashboard, or put it through the ol’ Save Cleaner.

Honorable Mention: Keep an eye on the texture sizes and poly counts of objects. I know it’s tempting to build these ultra hyperrealistic lots with clutter at every inch, but unless you’re just doing it for screenshots, or for your story, or using it very sparingly, it is not by any means recommended purely for gameplay. This is just the truth when it comes to any Sims game. You don’t want lag, or max memory crashes, or save errors? The Sims 3 is a 32bit game, that’s almost old enough to drive, be easy on it.

#the sims 3 #ts3 #tips and tricks

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kerink · 3 months ago

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okay, i finished the book of bill and i wasn't going to make this post because i was sure someone already had, but i was asked to make it anyway so here we go. my compilation of the billford content:

SONGS

three songs have been identified in relation to bill and ford:

the first is "we'll meet again" by vera lynn, which is about the singer wishing well to the listener before they travel, and promising to return home to them soon. this song comes up twice, first when bill sang it to ford in the fearamid and then again at the start of the book of bill, where ford says he still gets it stuck in his head upon waking up, giving the impression they both are singing it to each other at different points.

the second is a 1960s song by james and bobby; when you search this, the first song that comes up is "i'm your puppet." the meaning of this song is really straightforward, especially within the context of these two, but you can read this if you'd like. i believe this is the song ford is whistling in his dream before he's confronted by bill's previous victims. during this scene, he's sitting in a birch tree clearing (the tree commonly associated with bill) and sketching a yellow meadowlark.

as an aside, something interesting about the meadowlark is that its chest marking has a very peculiar resemblance...

the third is "sweet dreams (are made of this)" by the eurythmics. after bill tries for days if not weeks to talk to ford about the portal, bill resorts to violence and spends the night abusing ford's body and reputation. when ford wakes up, this is the song bill left playing for him.

as an aside, i think it's interesting that the first draft of the song was played on a black and yellow synthesizer.

HOW TO TRICK EVERYONE INTO LOVING YOU

there is an entire section in the book dedicated to bill outlining his dating tips. of the 8 tips bill gives, he uses 3 of them on ford. EDIT: he uses 5 of them

the first is "the love cage," which pretty much ver batum outlines what happened in the fearamid during weirdmageddon.

youtube

the second is "vulnerability," where bill advises you tell your date 1) how no one can relate to you and 2) that you have a tragic back story, both of which he does in one fell swoop.

as an aside, this is a fun chance to peek at bill being an unreliable narrator in some kind of mobius double bluff. when you read these two sections back to back, it appears bill is lying to ford to gain his trust, especially if you also just watched the previous video. however, earlier in the book, it's implied that the genocide of his dimension was traumatic and something he wishes he could undo, and later in the book, after ford leaves him, bill gets drunk and attempts to call his mother, sobbing. this gives the impression that bill was indeed being vulnerable with ford here but doesn't want us, the reader, to know it.

the third is "good ol'-fashioned valentines," where bill provides some cheap and easy gift-giving advice. he then follows this advice for ford's birthday.

as an aside, i think it's funny bill brings up cats here. who belongs to whom, william?

BREAKUP

them both accusing each other of cheating:

a callback to stan's season 1 joke: "my ex-wife still misses me, but her aim is getting better:"

this amazing lower back tattoo bill made him get:

bill totally being fine and normal and great after ford leaves him for good. in fact, he's doing so well that he got drunk and took himself to dinner to celebrate. he's not upset. he's not upset.

and let's not forget mabel calling it like it is, as always:

MISC

and finally, here are some various tidbits i just enjoyed:

ford's a cipherholic attracted to things that hurt him lmfao

can you just give him a normal compliment jesus

the tattoo reads "if lost return to bill"

also the "the rats were his idea? i get it now." get what baby hm? hm? hm? implying we WERE supposed to "get" something from it

fated i guess

not tonight dear i have a headache

in conclusion, i definitely think bill is more in love with obsessed with ford than ford is with bill at this point. probably because ford's had a third of his life to come to terms with their partnership, while 30 years to an immortal being is imperceptible. given what we saw with "the love cage" and with how bill tells ford it's not too late to join the henchmaniacs during weirdmageddon, he's probably still trying to get ford back. in his own insane, demonic way.

as an aside, i do think it's interesting that the end of the book implies bill blames stan for turning ford away from him. especially since what he cites is what happens at the end of the show, implying bill thought he still had a chance during weirdmageddon

anyway, thanks for reading! if i missed anything, please let me know!

#gravity falls #bill cipher #stanford pines #billford

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audreyscribes · 2 months ago

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Ω PJO MISC. DEMIGOD HEADCANONS:🍇 THALIA “PLENTIFUL/LUXURIANT” GODDESS OF FESTIVITY AND BANQUETS 🎉{wave 3.5}

Here's the final, long-awaited Charities and the most funniest and convulted one too. You saw the Thalia Muse demigod hc, I think you can guess what's this one is going to be like. MISCELLANEOUS DEMIGOD H/CS MASTERLIST LINK: [TUMBLR] || [AO3]

Be prepared for even more ridiculous, wackiest mistaken hijinks to exist at Camp Halfblood and Camp Jupiter. If you have read the Muse’s Thalia demigod H/Cs, then that’s just the tip of the iceberg. People are going to think you’re related to Thalia Grace, the lieutenant of Artemis, the demigod daughter of Zeus, and if that wasn’t bad enough, you’re going to be mistaken with the child of Thalia, the demigod child of the Muse Thalia, and vise-versa. Even if you try to differentiate between Thalia the Muse or The Charity, people will still misunderstand the demigod Thalia Grace. Especially the Romans at Camp Jupiter refer to the Charities as the Graces. Even then, there are some people who interchange Thalia with Charity or Grace.

If you’re a person who prefers harmony, being a child of Thalia would be right for you as Thalia was described as being a “Darling of Harmony”. That and you have perfect harmony for music and dancing as well.

In terms of resemblance with our gods and their demigods, the demigod of Thalia would be the children of Demeter, in terms of that Thalia also means ‘plentiful; plentiful; abundant” which sounds quite like Demeter with her being the goddess of Harvest and Fertility. Both are responsible for banquets and great feasts and with the child of Thalia’s aspect of power, they brings plenty to the table as well as bountiful crops from the fields.

I can also see the child of Thalia having some resemblance to Hestia as well; or what they stand for. As we know Hestia is responsible for the hearth and she gets every bit of everything that is sacrificed to the gods, so she provides and gains plenty. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I like the idea that the child of Thalia pays tribute and respect to Hestia (more so then the average) because without the Hearth, there would be no warm flame to cook the food nor light the banquets, providing festivity with her flames in times of dark times or to signal a bright occasion.

The child of Thalia has no major power to speak of, aside from minor fertility powers that lean more to growth, but you keep the energy alive and help increase and maintain people’s spirits. This is quite useful in low points in time or keeping a soldier's morale up when in battle. You are quite a people’s person regardless how you define yourself.

Power-wise, its possible to inherit the power of joy where you can make people feel joy. Make them see the positive in things. It also means you have a very infectious giggle and laugh. If you laugh or giggle, people can’t help doing the same. A smile will also do the same thing as well. Then again, you don’t really need to rely on your powers to make people feel a little bit of joy because you can do it without it.

Because The Charity Thalia is associated with Festivities and Banquets, you develop a sense of planning for events. It’s not out of the question that you often help Mr. D and Chiron for these events, making sure things go smoothly or when things go off the rails (which often do when demigods are involved), there is always a plan in place. You also can be found planning or holding impromptu events ranging not just dinner parties or tea parties, but stuff like Karoke battle, dance offs, or even a skipping rope contest (though probably not anymore because Chiron strongly suggested not using burning rope to make things more interesting).

“The Fates have to be messing with us” you groaned into your hands, head also thrown back as you tried to trick yourself this was just a bad dream. However, even a dream wouldn’t be this convoluted.

You took away your eyes as you saw Thalia Grace, the demigod daughter of Zeus and lieutenant of Artemis’ Huntresses, and the other child of Thalia, but their mother was the Muse goddess of Comedy.

It was a complete circus when you were claimed and all the campers were so confused when you were announced to be the “Daughter of Thalia”. Little did you know, there was a famous camper named Thalia, who was present at your claiming, and when Chiron tried to clarify again that you were the daughter of the Thalia, the goddess-

Everyone’s ADHD brain and mouth went to the Muse goddess, and turned to the Muse demigod child of Thalia, then Chiron said it was the other goddess, a roman camper who was visiting opened their mouth and said “You mean Thalia, the Grace?”

People’s brains went back to Thalia Grace, the demigod daughter of Zeus-

Chiron then had to interrupt loudly that, no, he was talking about the Charity Thalia, and the use of the Graces was used by the Romans-

It also didn’t help that your claim symbol was very similar to the Muse goddess of Thalia, and Chiron had just convinced Mr. D send word to Olympus so they could track down both Thalias, and had to convince Hermes to find and ask about which Thalia you were the child of.

“I wonder if my mother had any idea about my name and this was all intentional, or Zeus was the one who named me” said Thalia in frustration. “If it was really Zeus who named me, then I wanna say dad you have the worst naming choices because both the muse and charity Thalia are both his daughters too. Wasn’t two enough?!”

“Well, all things come in three” joked the demigod child of the Muse Thalia.

“Don’t-”

“You have to admit, there is something funny about this” you pointed out, chuckling while giving a wry smile.

“Oh Artemis, give me strength” muttered Thalia Grace.

The door to the Big House meeting room opened and there was an unknown man with a wide mischievous smile at the front, greeting with “Hello, sister and cousins!” as he walked in with Chiron right behind him.

“Lord Hermes” greeted Thalia as she got up, to bow while the rest of you copied her.

“Please” he said as he waved and then suddenly there were two envelopes between his fingers. “I won’t be too long because packages and mails to be delivered and picked up, but this was too funny to not come myself; so ta-dah~”

All three mortals in the room groaned at Hermes’ obvious enjoyment out of this whole scenario. “Okay, so I managed to find both Thalias, one of them was busy with Aprhodite who was also with Ares, and boy, they did not appreciate me crashing on their little romantic date, and the muses were whipping up a bit of a lovely chorus with Apollo, which kind delayed everything because last time I interrupted Apollo’s music with the Muses, it was not pretty but hey I managed to talk my way out of it-”

There was a polite cough from Chiron and Hermes grinned. “But I got the words straight and both Thalias told me that they did at one point like the same mortal man-”

Both demigods of Thalia stiffened at the sudden throw back. They immediately turned to each other, balking at the incoming info that they may still be half-siblings but just with different mothers.

“-but I reminded them of the year you both were born and what year it was, where you were born, you know the boring tidbits, and said no, you two aren’t related.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief and the tension in their body was gone, making them drop in their seats. You placed your face in your hands and were tremoring with pent up laughter.

“So, my mother is Thalia of the Charities?” you asked for clarification.

Hermes nodded before handing over the envelope, to each of you. “The details are here and they filled out a sort of birth certificate, just in case this happens again. Eileithyia was also there coincidentally so she also helped clarify your births.”

You took the envelope and opened it. It looked like a regular birth certificate but there was a signature of your godly mother, as well as signed by Eileithyia confirming your birth.

“Wait, so does everyone on Olympus knows about this?” asked Thalia.

“Ohhhhh yeah” Hermes drawled out with an ever bigger grin. “Which I gotta say, its been so long since we’ve had such fun about whose demigod was without it all being some major drama; not that I wouldn’t listen in myself.”

Both respective children of Thalia groaned as everyone else laughed. This was just going to be the beginning of what your life at camp was going to be like.

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saccharinesensuality · 2 years ago

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My go-to resources for vampyres demonic and otherwise:

These resources will be in 3 sections. Sanguinarian, Psychic/Psi and misc. I made sure these resources were for free and readily accessible for all that may be newly awakened, forced to be solitary with little to no information or just want to learn what's going on with your vampyre friend donor or not. There will be updates to these free resources and the links will be underlined and colored red.

For sanguinarians:

The Red Cellar is a website in which you can find all the tips and tricks for your feeding needs. It has topics including but not limited to: Practical advice (safety when dealing with🩸and caring for cuts, precautions with donor-sang relationships, how to get 🩸and handle it safely from your local butcher), Recipes and Health and Wellness. This is also a great resource for "med sangs" or vampires that believe that they require blood for health reasons. (Thank you lexsang for tipping us off.)

The Misanthropic Vampire is for the more demonic vampires. It is a more spiritual approach than med sangs as its written by a Luciferian vampire like me but it still has a lot of great material. There's explanations and resources of/from the vampire community, vampyre book recs, the myths and legends commonly used, glossary of terms (incubi/succubi are classified as sanguinarian subsets here), and rituals to become one with your true self "the divine/beast/dragon/demon etc" and sit on the throne of your soul. Although the author has since abstained from being a practicing sanguinarian from personal reasons, they still mention the symbolism and sacredness of the intimacy between 🩸donors and the vampyre.

For Psychic/Psi vampires:

The Old Vampire Codex is free on sacred texts donated from the author themselves. From what I know, M Belanger founder of House Kheparu is actually publishing an updated edition of the newer "psychic vampire codex". But before that happens, I recommend this because it's pretty much still the basics. The foundations haven't changed. Everything from awakenings, dreamwalking, feedings, energy work and healing is here.

Miscellaneous links

The Vampire Jack Townson has two different guided meditations. One is a basic one where you clear your mind, the other is putting your troubles to the side for a bit and going to your sanctuary to relax awhile. If you'd much rather relax in your soul's sanctuary then use this. Misanthropic vampire's throning ritual can be intense for newly awakened vampyres/demons etc so this is a nice alternative first step.

Orlee Stewart's Incubus/Succubus Playlist has a lot of things about incubus and succubus spirits. She talks about what they are, how to get them, the types of spirits she's encountered matching this description, how to encorporate their energy and become like them etc..

#demonkin #demon kin #incubus kin #incubuskin #psi vamp #eros vampirism #sanguinarian #succubuskin #succubus kin #sang vamp #real vampire #psychic vampire #med sangs #otherkin #therian

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zoesblogsposts · 1 year ago

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o 625 words to know in your target language o

There is a really interesting blog called "Fluent Forever" that aids foreign language learners in tricks, tips and techniques to guide them to achieving fluency "quickly" and efficiently. One of the tricks is to learn these 625 vocab words in your target language, that way you have a basis to start delving into grammar with ease as you can understand a lot of vocab right off the bat. Plus this list of words are common across the world and will aid you in whatever language you are learning. Here is the list in thematic order

• Animal: dog, cat, fish, bird, cow, pig, mouse, horse, wing, animal

• Transportation: train, plane, car, truck, bicycle, bus, boat, ship, tire, gasoline, engine, (train) ticket, transportation

• Location: city, house, apartment, street/road, airport, train station, bridge hotel, restaurant, farm, court, school, office, room, town, university, club, bar, park, camp, store/shop, theater, library, hospital, church, market, country (USA,

France, etc.), building, ground, space (outer space), bank, location

• Clothing: hat, dress, suit, skirt, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shoes, pocket, coat, stain, clothing

• Color: red, green, blue (light/dark), yellow, brown, pink, orange, black, white, gray, color

• People: son, daughter, mother, father, parent (= mother/father), baby, man, woman, brother, sister, family, grandfather, grandmother, husband, wife, king, queen, president, neighbor, boy, girl, child (= boy/girl), adult (= man/woman), human (# animal), friend (Add a friend's name), victim, player, fan, crowd, person

• Job: Teacher, student, lawyer, doctor, patient, waiter, secretary, priest, police, army, soldier, artist, author, manager, reporter, actor, job

• Society: religion, heaven, hell, death, medicine, money, dollar, bill, marriage, wedding, team, race (ethnicity), sex (the act), sex (gender), murder, prison, technology, energy, war, peace, attack, election, magazine, newspaper, poison, gun, sport, race (sport), exercise, ball, game, price, contract, drug, sign, science, God

• Art. band, song, instrument (musical), music, movie, art

• Beverages: coffee, tea, wine, beer, juice, water, milk, beverage

• Food: egg, cheese, bread, soup, cake, chicken, pork, beef, apple, banana orange, lemon, corn, rice, oil, seed, knife, spoon, fork, plate, cup, breakfast, lunch, dinner, sugar, salt, bottle, food

• Home: table, chair, bed, dream, window, door, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, pencil, pen, photograph, soap, book, page, key, paint, letter, note, wall, paper, floor, ceiling, roof, pool, lock, telephone, garden, yard, needle, bag, box, gift, card, ring, tool

• Electronics: clock, lamp, fan, cell phone, network, computer, program (computer), laptop, screen, camera, television, radio

• Body: head, neck, face, beard, hair, eye, mouth, lip, nose, tooth, ear, tear (drop), tongue, back, toe, finger, foot, hand, leg, arm, shoulder, heart, blood, brain, knee, sweat, disease, bone, voice, skin, body

• Nature: sea, ocean, river, mountain, rain, snow, tree, sun, moon, world, Earth, forest, sky, plant, wind, soil/earth, flower, valley, root, lake, star, grass, leaf, air, sand, beach, wave, fire, ice, island, hill, heat, nature

• Materials: glass, metal, plastic, wood, stone, diamond, clay, dust, gold, copper, silver, material

• Math/Measurements: meter, centimeter, kilogram, inch, foot, pound, half, circle, square, temperature, date, weight, edge, corner

• Misc Nouns: map, dot, consonant, vowel, light, sound, yes, no, piece, pain, injury, hole, image, pattern, noun, verb, adjective

• Directions: top, bottom, side, front, back, outside, inside, up, down, left, right, straight, north, south, east, west, direction

• Seasons: Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall, season

• Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 21, 22, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82, 90, 91, 92, 100, 101, 102, 110, 111, 1000, 1001, 10000, 100000, million, billion, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, number

• Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

• Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

• Time: year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, morning, afternoon, evening, night, time

• Verbs: work, play, walk, run, drive, fly, swim, go, stop, follow, think, speak/say, eat, drink, kill, die, smile, laugh, cry, buy, pay, sell, shoot(a gun), learn, jump, smell, hear (a sound), listen (music), taste, touch, see (a bird), watch (TV), kiss, burn, melt, dig, explode, sit, stand, love, pass by, cut, fight, lie down, dance, sleep, wake up, sing, count, marry, pray, win, lose, mix/stir, bend, wash, cook, open, close, write, call, turn, build, teach, grow, draw, feed, catch, throw, clean, find, fall, push, pull, carry, break, wear, hang, shake, sign, beat, lift

• Adjectives: long, short (long), tall, short (vs tall), wide, narrow, big/large, small/little, slow, fast, hot, cold, warm, cool, new, old (new), young, old (young), weak, dead, alive, heavy, light (heavy), dark, light (dark), nuclear, famous

#second language #language #learning #rory gilmore #smart #tips

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elderwisp · 5 months ago

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hi! Im so sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, I've looked for answers for this before so I'm just not sure,,

i absolutely adore your sims and your story! Its completely inspired me to create a story w/ my sims as well! the only thing is I'm quite overwhelmed with it all and I don't know where to start :(

do you have any tips? Whats your process? there's so many things to use and I'm just curious what you use! Thanks in advance and no pressure to answer if this is the wrong place :))<33

HAI :D OMG EXCITING <3 no worries! my inbox is always open for assistance and i'd love to help! here's a bunch of tips ranging from writing to technical to artsy stuff:

the start:

⟡ i should preface this story did not begin as one typically would which is say following the example of how to write a novel in a year. my writing style for this project started out with my interest in the characters created. my desire to wanting to know why certain oc's acted the way they did and that's where it all began. what started out as short stories of certain individuals reworked into something much more authentic. this was the hook for me so you gotta find that one sliver of interest and run with it. you can most certainly utilize tools like character sheets, pinboards, storyboards to assist you but i find that if i'm not connected to the story, it's difficult to use them

⟡ with that being said LOL invest the time in fleshing out your character because when you understand how they work, when you believe in them, the easier it'll be in creating scenes and writing dialogue. for me, it's almost intuitive writing for characters to the point where i will easily check myself and rewrite a scene because it didn't align with a certain character

⟡ while the influence of your own ideals/experiences eventually bleed into an oc, it's important to identify that, otherwise a cast of diverse characters eventually feel the same. this was something i struggled with for years which is why i could never really begin until now!

⟡ it's good to ask yourself what sort of story do you want to create. the best question is is it plot driven or character driven? what sort of tone do you want to set? do you want to blend them? i think there's a huge stress on just doing things for fun and not taking things seriously but i do want to challenge others to consider what that might look like for others. sometimes people like to create grand posts or fun slice of life posts and neither is more valid than the other. it's truly up to the author

technical stuff:

⟡ i'm gonna be honest with you, i'm not as organized as i once was in how i go about plotting things however! in the beginning, i would utilize sticky notes with ideas written on them and then shuffle around how i wanted things to play out. now i use a dingy little notebook LMAO but i've heard good things about milanote! as for dialogue, i do use google docs but i do think they're under fire for using your things for ai training or somethin O_O

⟡ i do use photoshop to edit my photos and that usually looks like cropping, color/contrast enhancing and sharpening. i do add dialogue last because when i sharpen it all together, the font looks cwispy! there's this mini tut by @/stinkrascal on how to format the text so it's all even if that's the style you're going for! anyways it changed my LIFE lmao! right here are some free alternatives. also this is an older post in which i shared my process and it includes some tips and tricks with photoshop (you can also see how i used to format text lmaooo)

⟡ knowledge is power. if i find myself really struggling with certain aspects, like maybe the logistics of a character, i'll set aside some time to learn from certain authors, commentators or directors. even if it's a short clip of seeing how they approach something as simple as their thought process behind how a scene supported a character to something as small as the significance of Isha's hat from Arcane

misc writing tips:

⟡ ooh! because tessellate is such a large group of characters, it can be challenging to structuring a plot. so i started off by slowly introducing characters rather than all at once. i also break up character plots into arcs but with that comes filler episodes to help space out big moments. i like to utilize filler episodes as bite sized pieces that introduces the readers to newer characters while also allowing there to be breaks in between. those filler posts highlight certain events, ways of living, etc that might influence how things play out in the future. a good example is kai, we're nearing the end of his arc but all of those little moments in between really helped shaped how things played out!

⟡ when i think of conflict, i think of it a lot like a boiling pot. it starts out at a neutral temperature (your foundation), before bubbles begin to form (minor annoyances between characters), steam hissing (the lead up) to an eventual lid popping off (the conflict). the build up is the most important part to the pay off!

⟡ my best piece of advice for darker themes is really understand the topic and stray away from stereotypes as it diminishes a lot of depth in certain subjects as well as does more harm than good. recognize that at the end of the day a weakness does not define a person as they are a person through and through. approach it with compassion rather than judgement.

⟡ i know i know everyone says to read your dialogue out loud and that is incredibly important however while doing that, think about the flow too. as a writer, because we are goal oriented, sometimes dialogue can be turned into what will progress the plot which makes things feel a bit unnatural and sometimes lacking the proper flow. remember to consider the personality of a character. how is a line delivered through a character who is brash versus one who is a bit more reclusive? also! here's a great video about the stiff dialogue in veilguard that shows what unnatural dialogue can sound like.

⟡ remember, comparison is the thief of joy. it's easy to get caught up in recognition and likes. there was a time where i consistently got 3-5 readers and that was it. there are moments now where certain posts are incredibly inconsistent in engagement and sure, it can be disheartening but then i think about the handful of individuals that consistently comment, the specific asks about how a certain post made them feel seen and interact and i remember why it's i chose to write. it isn't the recognition i seek, it's the connection. it's important to have that one thing that gives you the strength to continue because truthfully, things can be inconsistent and that's okay.

the artsy stuff:

⟡ i am a huge fan of cinema, animation and photography. i think consuming a lot of media and art has helped train my eye especially if i feel as if my screenshots are becoming repetitive. it's good to see how different directors go about framing dialogue. comic panels are amazing as well since artists find new unique ways of captivating an audience through levels like coloring, framing, posing and such! it's honestly why i introduced some vertical shots to black out bars in story posts because of that unique angle! remember, media is meant to inspire you! after watching the latest season of Arcane (haven't finished it yet tho) it genuinely relit a fire under my ass LMAO

⟡ different angles, lighting and positioning can help elevate a story. the aesthetics of a story can really add another layer of depth however it's important to remember that it is a supporting role, not the entire role

⟡ i do use my own reshade and i've formatted it to have similarities of a film camera as well as my preference of color correcting. i lean heavier towards contrast, colors and shadows however i always encourage for people to look into what supports their vision the best! the lightroom shader by quint and pd80's contrast/brightness/saturation shader help with color grading in game as they do have sliders that tweak certain colors. the sepia shader is great for adding a cinematic tint but it can conflict with relight and the way the lights are presented. relight of course can add those shadows in lighting. i'll sometimes have two presets, one for up close shots to further shots because sometimes zooming out can create inconsistencies in your preset as things might look to muggy or like a disco ball LOL (ps what helps with that is adjusting bloom if used and messing around with shadows/midtones/highlights/saturation with that lightroom shader)

last but not least, a story is a labor of love, it's a tool in which authors can utilize the pen to their own manner whether it's to communicate ideas or to simply tell a tale. don't be afraid to dive deep into the layers of your story and remember each piece can be important factor but it's entirely up to you as to where you want that focus to be. it does take a lot of courage to start but i truly believe if it's something you cherish, it'll always be worth it!

i do wish you the best of luck! thank you for trusting me enough to give you some tips and tricks! i tried to lean more into the more finite details as i felt like this is what truly helped me throughout the years! <3 also here is a complimentary meme i made:

#btw i created a milinote after this LMAOO #creative process #asks

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brooklyn-house · 2 months ago

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brooklyn house trainees misc. headcanons

singlehandedly forcing the kane chronicles fandom to life less gooo

sean ryan (path of tefnut - goddess of rain and moisture) and alyssa (path of geb - god of the earth) like to goof around together

alyssa is the reason there's a steam room and sauna on the ground floor of the brooklyn house

cleo from rio (path of thoth - god of knowledge) is a tumblr girlie (gods bless her) and owns a t-shirt with neil banging out the tunes

when she finds out about the greco-roman demigods, she routinely sends postcards to camp jupiter on the ides of march with "sorry for your loss" or "i heard they killed your guy again"

julian (path of horus - god of war) spends his spare time programming and doing math competitions

he has tried to combine some of the magic words taught to him to help him with electronics. his efforts have not been successful just yet

cleo likes to duat travel to other nomes' libraries and read up on things that the 21st nome just doesn't offer. she brings shabti in her bag so that they can copy documents she really likes

shelby of the ankle biters likes to draw, and her art sometimes comes to life. after rachel starts visiting her neighbours, shelby finds out she paints, and starts to really look up to her

for his birthday, the rest of the nome gift felix a yearly sponsorship to one of the penguins in their nearest zoo

along freak's stable, the roof has a little greenhouse, mostly for jaz' and paul's (path of nepit - goddess of agriculture) medicinal herbs

rachel and alyssa like to learn the other's art form from each other - alyssa gives rachel tips on how to make her pottery stable, and rachel teaches alyssa how different colours work together, and what's the best way to combine them

zariya (path of shu) really decided to follow the wind god, because she plays ultimate frisbee competitively. (also because she's watched atla and could not pass up an opportunity to airbend)

zariya and julian are good buddies, zariya being one of the few people to consistently refer to him exclusively as "jules" and dragging him along to ultimate frisbee games.

the two share scientific interests, julian's math and theoretical informatics, zariya's biophysics. they'll at times discuss these, but have no illusion - it's a thing of passion and great fun for both of them. also a bit of a competition

sage, who's only joined very near the final battle against apophis, uses they/them, and follows khonsu. they're pretty inexpressive and soft-spoken. they're interested in not just the moon, but also the time-controlling aspect of khonsu's magic. (they might have gotten stuck in a time loop a few times)

they're a bit of a mysterious figure, and hardly ever speak to anyone. contrary to popular belief, this isn't because they feel any animosity, they just don't really know what to say, so they prefer to keep to themself.

when older, shelby of the ankle biters decides to follow the path of bes. she's grown up with all incredibly fun people, and besides being the dwarf god, bes is also one of the art gods. freedom of self-expression and all that. shelby's never been afraid of expressing herself.

teagan (path of bast), who joined the crew sometime between the throne of fire and the serpent's shadow, is actually a trans girl! she's the one who catalyzes zia's own realization that he's trans as well. while the goddess is in the brooklyn house, the two love to hang out, bast directly teaching her some of her tricks on living the best life (the catgirl life)

for day 2 of @brooklyn-house-week 2025: shared pasttimes :)

send me asks about any of these kids or whatever rrverse related! i'll happily make up more headcanons <3

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yoonia · 2 years ago

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hi dia, how are you? i hope you're doing well. sorry to bothering you but i need to talk with somebody that might understands me. you see i really love writing, but everytime i try to write something, even if i already have it all planned, i can't. i can't because i'm afraid that it's not going to be good, or that i can't write a good conversations between my characters or that i'm not going to be able to make my readers feel emotions, and i know that i shouldn't be doing this, but i admit that i compare myself with other authors, and i tell myself that if i'm going to write something or not, it's not going to make a difference and that someone out there is way better than me...i don't know what to do, so i wanted to ask you: what should i do?

Hello, love! I'm doing well, or dare I say, better? For the past few days, things have been quite crazy for me and I've been lacking sleep so much I've been barely coherent. Hence the reason why I've been silent and took my time responding to this.

You will never be a bother to me and you're right, I do understand your predicament. Writer's block happens to most of us. Heck, I've been dealing with my own for the past month and I've been struggling with it too. So I can totally see what you mean. Oftentimes, we find the biggest challenge in ourselves when it comes to creating content, and I rather think that it's somewhat normal to feel that way. And you can't really help comparing yourself when you're surrounded by a lot of people who create the same stuff that you do. That's probably why a lot of writing advice that we've seen on #/writelbr always tells us to "not compare yourself with others" lol. But I know that it's hard not to do it bc they're literally around us, popping on our dash, sometimes they even show us their works when we're talking to them on chats, DMs, etc. That's why I tried to switch things up when that happens to me, maybe you can do that too?

When you find yourself comparing your own work or whatever stage you are currently in creative-wise to another writer, try to take notes about what it is that you find feeding your insecurities or making you feel inferior. Use that note as your guide and a learning tool to improve yourself with your own writing and skills.

After writing for so long, I've learned that each writer has their own "voice" or "tone" that they put into their works. Try finding your own, and figure out which part in the writing process you feel like you can stand out more (for ex. you might not be good at writing dialogues, but you're better at writing a narration with vivid descriptions) and then just continue honing at it until it becomes something that you can be proud of.

If you feel like getting stuck, I actually found this post earlier about the simplest ways to get yourself unstuck. Tricking your mind into thinking that you're not actually writing a fic/story can work sometimes to switch up your mood. It could be through changing your font, using different writing apps, writing them down in your notebook (this is what I do often when I'm stuck), etc. I also have a thing called the "bracket technique" (FYI I just found out that this trick has a name after years of using it lol). This is where instead of writing an actual--fully written--scene, you just put your idea inside a bracket before later expanding it into an elaborate narration or dialogue. It basically looks like this:

[This is the paragraph you've already written so far] [Enter what you want to happen next here and what kind of things they would be talking about, where they are and what kind of situation you want them to be in. So it's not an actual written scene but mainly just a random blurb or brain dump that might make no sense to anyone who sees it except for you]

Another thing that I'd like to suggest to maybe find your motivation again is to actually step back from writing or anything that may stress you out. Forcing yourself to write when you're not up to it will only make you detest it even more. Close your writing app/doc, take a break, take a good walk or drive, maybe find something to read or watch or play a game to get your mind off of it. Then once you're ready, go back to reread everything that you've written so far, and you may find yourself wanting to either fix what you've created or finish it entirely. Either way, you'll find yourself writing again even if it's only to rewrite that one paragraph that you got stuck on the last time you're here.

And please don't say that you're not going to make a difference whether or not you're writing. Trust me, it does make a difference. Whether you only have 5 readers enjoying your work and waiting for an update or 1k readers following you, you're still making a difference in their lives by creating something that they can enjoy in their downtime. And it's not just them. You'll be making a hell of a difference by finishing that WIP of yours and sharing it on your blog/platform and checking at least one of your to-do-list that has been put on hold.

Take small steps and take things slow. Just remember that you don't always have to be the best writer out there, but just focus on being the best version of yourself that you can be proud of.

Sorry this got so long T^T but I hope this can help you somehow. Good luck with your writing, love! Sending love and a ton of good vibes your way <333

#💌 for dia #Anonymous #misc: tips and tricks #on writing

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gatheredfates · 7 months ago

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Hi all, and happy spooky month! 🎃 I'm dressing up the Compendium updates in line with the season (also because the official xiv art is stupid cute) and gently plugging the SEAFLOOR Saints Wake Gpose Challenge for anyone who might be interested!

There's not too much this round; however, if you know of anything I have missed, please reach out to me via my Discord or the Google Form.

As of today 10/6, the following communities have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives. 👻

COMMUNITY FOCUSED / EVENT SPACES

The Congregation of Knights Most Unholy—A Discord community of writers, artists, and readers brought together by a shared enthusiasm for dark and mature themes in FFXIV fanfiction and art. Our goal is to create a judgement-free space to create and discuss this particular brand of both SFW and NSFW content.

MISC

Coldshrugs GPOSE Tips and Tricks—Compiled by @coldshrugs, this guide provides tips, tricks and quick how-to guides on Ktisis, Brio and how to wrangle your characters’ bones with the new graphical update!

Have you thought about joining our Tumblr Community? You can find it here!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here or send me an ask with the relevant information!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. This is all publicly available on the document. 🍬

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads. (Though these get posted to the SEAFLOOR Tumblr Community when I find them!)

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include IC tabloid blogs or other ventures used to generate roleplay.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

I want to put my community on the Compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my Community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community/resource on the Compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it. The same goes for resources; if it's relevant to the game, it'll be useful to someone.

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, contact me asap!

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ffxiv community #final fantasy xiv roleplay #ffxiv roleplay #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea speaks #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea's community compendium

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arcane-vagabond · 10 months ago

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Arcane-Vagabond's Blog Survival Guide

Because I saw another blog do this, and I think it's a good idea now that I'm gaining more followers who may not have heard of me before. So, here's a little guide about me, my works, what you'll find on this blog, and how to navigate!

RESIDENT SURVIVAL MASTER: ARCANE-VAGABOND AKA LIZ

Millenial, 28, Bisexual, Agender Woman, She/They

THINGS LIZ KNOWS WAY TOO MUCH ABOUT

Pop Culture, Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, Languages, Religion, Cryptids, Space, Tornadoes, Cultures, Vikings, Medieval/Renaissance Studies, Mythology, and more!

IN THIS SURVIVAL GUIDE YOU WILL WILL FIND:

✨ MY COLLECTIONS: My writing

✨ MY TIPS AND TRICKS: Rules for my writing

✨ MY DECREES: My blog rules

✨ UPCOMING EVENTS: What I'm currently working on

✨ CLASSIFICATIONS: What tags I use

✨ MY LORE: More about me

All of this information can also be found on my Navigation Page which also serves as my pinned post!

※ My Masterlist

Where I keep all of my writing! You can also find challenges and moodboards here!

✨My FAQ!

✨ I currently write female reader-insert fics as well almost exclusively AUs (Alternate Universes). I try to make my fics as inclusive as possible, but I understand that I will fall short of this at times. The moodboards I make for the heroines of my stories are based off of vibes only, but the reader characters themselves will not have physical attributes save for something like hair length.

✨Most of my stories are for Jake “Hangman” Seresin at the moment. I started writing for the Top Gun Maverick fandom in September 2023, and only recently started branching out to other fandoms.

✨ Writing Updates: I do not currently have a posting schedule. This is mainly because my job/life are pretty hectic and I never know when the mood or time to update will strike me.

✨ Taglists: I no longer do taglists. If you would like to be notified of when I post fic updates, drabbles, moodboards, or polls, please head over to my sideblog: @arcanevagabond-library and turn on post notifications!

✨ Requests are currently: Open! Feel free to send them in at any time, but please know that it may take me a little while to get to it.

I will write: Smut, Fluff, Angst (within reason), light, soft!dark, dark!, AUs (there's not much I won't do), age difference (both adults), threesome, reverse harem, dubcon, consensual non-consent, Dom/Sub, cockwarming, praise, praise and degradation, breeding, chase, power imbalance, choking, knife play, bondage, edging, overstimulation, A/B/O, and I'm sure there's more. Just ask!

I will NOT write: Real Person Fic (RPF), age regression, pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, incest, race play, underage scenarios, scat play, piss kink, cheating between "main" couple, accidental pregnancy, miscarriage, Taylor Swift inspired fic.

Who I'll write for:

✨TGM Characters: Jake "Hangman" Seresin, Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Javy "Coyote" Machado, and Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia

✨ Twisters Characters: Tyler Owens, Boone, and Scott

✨Marvel Characters: Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Thor, Loki, Peter Parker

✨Misc. Characters: Soldier Boy, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, and more to come!

✨ My blog is 18+ only!

✨ I sometimes write smut and some of my stories contain elements of sexual assault and non-con, so please heed the warnings posted at the top of fics and proceed with caution!

✨ Hate, racism, transphobia, homophobia, and misogyny will not be tolerated. Take your mean anons elsewhere, please and thanks.

✨ While I thirst over characters and celebrities and I'm happy to receive positive asks about them, I'm not a gossip blog.

✨ This is my safe space. I do my best to be kind, but don't take advantage of it.

✨ SUPPORT WRITERS AND THEIR HARD WORK THAT YOU ENJOY FOR FREE. If you struggle with what to say when commenting/reblogging, check out this post for ideas/help.

About My Inbox and DMs

✨ Please read my FAQ!

✨ When it comes to ask games and chatting (whether about my fics or in general) I'm pretty quick to respond. However, I'm a little slower when it comes to requests, so please keep that in mind when sending in asks.

✨ Inbox is open for positivity, thirsting, fic and writer asks, personal shares (within reason), and more! I will happily accept gifs, photos, and videos as they make my day.

✨ Please ask before trauma dumping. While I don't get triggered easily, asking beforehand is appreciated. Should I agree, please add a trigger warning when you send the next ask.

✨ If you ask for my advice, please keep in mind that my word is not law and I may not have the answer you're looking for.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON AT THE CURRENT MOMENT

I'm working on a number of things for different things for different fandoms. These include fics for Top Gun Maverick, Teen Wolf, Twisters, and Marvel. I'm always expanding though!

Check out my Writing Challenge!

ABOUT MY TAGS

✨ Liz's personal tag - Posts where I talk about things going on in my life. Could be light-hearted, could be darker. Both will fall under this tag.

✨ Liz writes - Used typically when I'm posting a sneak peek or a drabble of some kind.

✨ Liz speaks - Posts where I say something that’s not long, just a little blurb or something.

✨ Liz rants - Used when I'm complaining about something or other.

✨ Liz rambles - Posts where I'm on a tangent of some kind. Usually complaining about something or just talking about a topic and the post got long.

✨ Liz creates - Posts pertaining to my art projects!

✨ Long post - My answer/rant/post got long.

✨ Poll - Used on posts where I've created a poll.

✨ Hey Nonny Nonny - Anonymous asks that have been answered.

✨ Answered - Answered asks.

✨ Beloved Mutuals - Posts pertaining to my mutuals.

✨ For the Followers - Posts I make that are exclusively for my followers to participate in.

✨ Fic rec - A fic I've reblogged that I recommend.

✨ Hey Hangman. Queue look...good. - My tag for when I've queued things.

And last but not least on this long ass poll, some info about me!

Hi, my name is Liz. I'm 28 years old, and I blow the candles out on September 3rd of every year. I graduated with a Bachelor's of Art in Linguistics and I had two minors: One in German and the other in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Because I unfortunately can't afford to pursue more education, I joined the work force upon graduation! During school, I studied abroad twice: Once for a year in Germany and the second time was for a month in Ireland!

I've always loved stories, ever since I was a little girl and my dad would read the original Grimms fairytales to me. I've been telling stories ever since I could remember, but I didn't start writing them down until I was around nine years old.

My dream has always been to be an author, but I only recently started writing fanfiction in September 2023! A lot of my fics are story ideas I've had over the years that I've wanted to tell, but I always like to see how they'll do before I commit to them, so don't be shy about telling me what you think! I live for feedback of any kind, and likes just simply won't cut it for me. I want to know your thoughts! I promise you will never annoy me with them.

When I'm not writing, you can usually find me binge watching TV shows and/or movies while I cross-stitch, embroider, play video games, or paint! I also love painting pottery and reading in my spare time. If you want to know more details, feel free to check out my About Me page on my Navigation post!

Thanks for sticking around this long!

#blog survival guide #for the followers #for my new followers #or old if you wanna read #long post

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sonkitty · 6 months ago

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The Sunglasses Trick

(For reference: The Sunglasses Trick Visual Representation | The Sideburns Scheme Post #8 v4 | The Sideburns Scheme)

We'll be taking a more detailed look at The Sunglasses Trick for this post.

If you are already quite familiar with my theories, the newer content is under the Sideburns and Alternate Hissing headings. There's a little extra something at the start of the Misc section as well.

If you are new to The Sunglasses Trick or want a refresher anyway for an overall more detailed post, here is how it goes:

...

Every Threshold Trick has a primary Single, a primary Double, and a primary Triple.

The Sunglasses Trick has an interesting layered aspect of itself as part of what makes it really special. The Single is one Triple. The Double is two Doubles. The Triple is three Singles.

Here is how the Trick happens chronologically within the story:

Double #1 of our eventual primary Double (Episode 1)

Crowley removes his sunglasses touching two end pieces with one end. Both doors are opened.

Triple Part 1 of our eventual primary Single (Episode 1; Not Hissing)

Crowley removes his sunglasses before being summoned to Hell by touching the right end piece. He did not have a subtle demonic hiss as an added sound effect.

Triple Part 2 of our eventual primary Single (Episode 1; Not Hissing)

Crowley removes his sunglasses before throwing them on a desk by touching the left end piece. He did not have a subtle demonic hiss as an added sound effect.

Single #1 for our eventual primary Triple (Episode 2; Different Sunglasses)

Crowley removes the first set of present day sunglasses while holding a Jane Austen book by touching the right end piece. He had a subtle demonic hiss as an added sound effect.

Single #2 for our eventual primary Triple (Episode 2; Different Sunglasses)

Crawley removes his Job era sunglasses by touching the right end piece. He had a subtle demonic hiss as an added sound effect.

Single #3 for our eventual primary Triple (Episode 5; Different Sunglasses)

Crowley removes the second set of present day sunglasses by touching the left end piece. He had a subtle demonic hiss as an added sound effect.

We have three Singles that have something that make them all different—the different sunglasses...yet we also have something they all share in common: he hissed. We're going to go ahead and merge these Singles into the Triple. Now it's time to get the Single and the Double.

Triple Part 3 of our eventual primary Single (Episode 6; Not Hissing)

Crowley removes his sunglasses and holds them. When removing them, his right hand did so on the right end piece. He did not have a subtle demonic hiss as an added sound effect.

The Triple is already taken by our previously merged Singles that became the Triple. This group did not have three different pairs of sunglasses. It did lack hissing. We're going to merge these parts and switch this Triple to the Single. Now all that's left is to finish the Double.

Double #2 of our eventual primary Double (Episode 6)

Crowley puts his sunglasses back on. He touches the thresholds of his thresholds with both hands. Note that on the front view, two sets of fingers are touching each other as one of the fingers of each pair touches each edge. From the back view, there are two visible digit tips with the thumb and index finger.

The Double is done.

Both doors are closed.

...

Findings

In the past few months, between about July 2024 and October 2024, I've noticed at least two other findable patterns regarding these touches. There isn't anything particularly mind-blowing or earth-shattering on the scale of discovering The Sunglasses Trick itself (for me) with these findings. But still, I have them as new to me, and maybe further meaning to them will reveal itself over time.

Let's go over some helpful information for these incoming findings, for anyone new or wanting a refresher again.

This Threshold Trick has 8 touches total.

The fifth touch in particular is notable because it is the only touch in all six Threshold Tricks that does not take place during the present day storyline. It's for when Crowley hisses during the Job minisode with his line, "I want to. I long to destroy the blameless children of blameless Job, just as I destroyed his blameless goats."

We're going on a tangent here. If you don't already know, Crowley has shorter sideburns for a more "human" reading from a space during the present day storyline. In turn, longer sideburns give a more "supernatural" reading from a space. The minisodes change things so that you have to figure out the equivalents of those time periods based on the clues. In the case of the Job minisode, Crowley has the more "human" reading with shoulder-length hair that's not quite as fluffy as what can be found in other scenes. It is found 3 times: talking to Job and Sitis, witnessing God is talking to Job, and working with Aziraphale to restore Job's children to him. For the purposes of this post, "short sideburns" later will include this particular reading.

Now back to the touches of The Sunglasses Trick. The last two touches have a special situation since Crowley holds his sunglasses while talking to Aziraphale in the bookshop before he eventually puts them on within that scene. The other touches avoid that exact scenario.

For three of the touches, the sunglasses are detached and end up on earthly object. Those are the dark horse statue, the car rear view mirror, and a desk.

For the touches regarding the first and second hiss, Crowley's understood to be holding the sunglasses and never seen putting them back on. In both instances, a later scene indicates he put them on again sometime off-camera. For the third hiss, the sunglasses are never seen being placed into a pocket, but we do see that's where they ended up due to a scene when he is exiting the bookshop after that touch happened.

...

Sideburns

Okay, fine, fine. Here is one of the extra patterns I noticed.

With the exception of the last touch for The Sunglasses Trick, every preceding Crowley scene has short sideburns, or its equivalent, that takes place before a touch.

Episode 1, Touch #1:

Before Crowley removes his sunglasses in the bookshop, he had short sideburns while crossing the street with Aziraphale from the coffee shop to the bookshop.

...

Episode 1, Touch #2:

Before Crowley removed his sunglasses while in his car, he had short sideburns for the scene where he shot out lightning from himself.

...

Episode 1, Touch #3:

Before Crowley removed his sunglasses after his return to the bookshop, he had short sideburns while restoring power to the coffee shop.

...

Episode 2, Touch #4:

Before Crowley removed his sunglasses when he hissed at Gabriel and held a Jane Austen book, he had short sideburns while crossing the street with Aziraphale from the pub to the bookshop.

...

Episode 2, Touch #5:

Before Crowley removed his sunglasses when he hissed at Aziraphale, he had the short sideburns equivalent as he talked to Job with Sitis giving him a human alias of Bildad the Shuhite.

...

Episode 5, Touch #6:

Before Crowley removed his sunglasses when he hissed at Gabriel again and held a wine glass, he had short sideburns while talking to Aziraphale at a table outdoors.

...

Episode 6, Touch #7:

Before Crowley removed his sunglasses for the argument scene in the bookshop with Aziraphale, it's rather hard to find him. He's barely visible as Maggie and Nina leave. When he is found, he has a hand in his pocket and a short left sideburn. This particular cut is placed in a notable spot once it's found because Crowley's sideburns have been staying longer since he interrogated Gabriel. It is, in fact, how I eventually noticed this pattern at all because I wanted to know why the story went through all of the trouble of such a tiny detail that took so many months for me to notice at all.

...

Even though we do not see short sideburns between the seventh and eighth touch, the argument scene is cut in such a way that Aziraphale has a solitary cut without Crowley speaking or being seen on camera when Aziraphale says, "And I said, "Me?" And he said…"

...

Alternating Hisses

Across Good Omens 2, Crowley has 6 findable demonic hisses. I'm struggling on how to describe them as different from his other miracles, but they are different. I think they tend to be more subtle and lower in pitch.

We've already gone over three of these hisses with The Sunglasses Trick since that's the group of Singles that become the Triple.

I will review them with the other three below nonetheless due to my overall point.

Hiss #1:

In episode 1, Crowley has a subtle demonic hiss after he says, "Yeah, I won't," and before he says, "You're on your own with this one."

...

Hiss #2:

In episode 2, Crowley removes his sunglasses. He has has a subtle demonic hiss after he says, "Ah, you can do better than that," and before he says, "Come on, think! Think hard! What is the very first thing you remember?"

...

Hiss #3:

In episode 2, Crowley has a hiss toward Sitis after he says, "You tell me." This particular hiss is the most questionable of this batch because it is not as subtle as the others. I've gone over Crowley's other miracles for both seasons the best I can, and it still seems to fit best with these hisses in comparison to the other miracles. So, I hope have this idea right in its intended place for my point of what this pattern is.

...

Hiss #4:

In episode 2, Crowley has a subtle demonic hiss to Aziraphale before he says, "I want to. I long to destroy the blameless children of blameless Job, just as I destroyed his blameless goats."

...

Hiss #5:

In episode 3, Crowley has a subtle demonic hiss after he says to Aziraphale, "Word with you, angel, in private." It happens as he stands from when he had been sitting on the chair's arm rest.

...

Hiss #6:

In episode 5, Crowley has a subtle demonic says just before he says, "And I... Did Not Care For It."

...

When all 6 hisses are compared chronologically, they alternate between hisses that are not those for The Sunglasses Trick and those that are. That is to say, the odd-numbered ones are hisses that are not for The Sunglasses Trick. The even-numbered ones are for The Sunglasses Trick.

...

As for why such patterns exist with the sideburns and the hisses, I don't know beyond the more obvious, "These games make patterns to be found, and I found them." The sideburns issue in particular is at least incredibly helpful to finding and understanding the games of The Sideburns Scheme and Earthly Objects exist.

A lot of times there is a meaning behind the patterns, but I can't always decipher what the meaning might be.

That's how things are now.

If you quietly play along, I hope you have fun toying with the ideas yourself. If you ever come up with something and feel like sharing, I would be interested to read about it.

...

Misc

And so long as I'm going through the trouble of making an overall more detailed post about The Sunglasses Trick, here is some further information about it.

For those subtle demonic hisses, season 1 doesn't even seem to have those hisses though if that season has at least one, I think I found it when I was trying to compare those hisses to other miracles.

In season 1, Crowley makes an extremely overt and obvious snake-like hiss at Hastur when he enters his phone, including sticking out his tongue in the process. If you listen closely after he has entered the phone, you can hear a much more subtle demonic hiss quite similar to the ones found in season 2.

...

The Sunglasses Trick has two sets of three, and one can figure out that the Singles are determined by the different sunglasses being used for the hisses. That helps differentiate them more plainly than the other set of three.

For each of the touches with the hisses, Crowley is "holding" an earthly object. For the first hiss, Crowley holds a Jane Austen book in his left hand. For second hiss, he has no evident physical touch on an object and instead I surmise that the crows that are actually goats are held by him through his supernatural power as a demon. For the third hiss, Crowley holds a glass of red wine in his right hand. These touches are the way for an audience player to figure out that the sunglasses themselves have thresholds, which can then further assist in setting Door Mode or Accessory Mode.

The Threshold Tricks tend to avoid earthly objects or have special rules on how they are touched, so this particular holding pattern suggests Crowley is actually required to have these objects, instead of avoiding them. Since I like the idea of Crowley being very powerful but mitigating that power for whatever reasons he has, I like to think that is his intention. They help lessen the impact of the hiss for whoever is on the receiving end.

...

Every Threshold Trick has a match to a ball invitation. The Sunglasses Trick is matched with Crowley's invitation.

...

The Sunglasses Trick is the first of three Threshold Tricks that complete during the Final Fifteen. Of those three, it's the only one that took place over multiple episodes. It is done by Crowley for Crowley.

...

The touches of The Sunglasses Trick are "pocketed" by the Doubles. A Double starts the Trick. A Double ends the Trick.

I suspect there is a specific phrase to be found describing this Trick that includes the word, "Perfect". My top guess is Perfect Reversal, followed by Perfectly Layered Pocket, but I am not sure on either of those. Considering what I mention below with the rainbows and white light, Perfect Refraction at least occurs to me as another option.

From my own personal experience, the touches are the best way to figure out that the Tied Hands and Belt Head are an active part of Crowley's advanced play in Earthly Objects even outside The Pocket Trick.

Similarly, these touches help significantly with realizing Muriel's bookend connection with Crowley.

...

The Pocket Trick, The Bigger Thresholds Trick, The Door Trick, and The Window Track have rainbows.

The Perfect Entrance Trick lacks a rainbow.

While The Sunglasses Trick also lacks a rainbow, it has a reflection of white light in Crowley's watch, indicative of the Trick's special layering. Rainbows are refractions of white light.

The core concept of the The Sunglasses Trick is, "Crowley's sunglasses are his door to himself."

And that's all I have for this post.

I hope I don't have to edit this post beyond possibly fixing typos or word flow, but FYI, further edits sometimes happen with my posts.

#crowley #david tennant #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens s2 #good omens season 2 #good omens meta #good omens crowley #good omens analysis

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astrunaria · 5 months ago

Text

Harriet Lore Dump

Remember this post??

I think it's time poor Harriet ACTUALLY got a lore dump while I work on other stuff rn so here goes:

Backstory

Raised by a loving uncle who was a homicide detective (Her parents were a human from Throdia and an elf from the Cattenach Empire, honestly kingdom lore that's still a WIP bc I haven't recieved writing inspo but what you should know is that elf dad escaped to Throdia and got captured and taken back to the empire, human mum went after him, leaving their newborn child in the care of her brother. They weren't heard from again anyhoo back to unc), whenever she’d ask him about his job he’d always present them as murder mystery stories, which Harriet found thrilling. Feeling inspired, and wanting to have a story of her own to tell her uncle, she started writing her own stories, though her being a child, they weren’t that good. Her uncle, however, was willing to help her out in figuring out how to make a good mystery and so over time, thanks to him, she began to improve her craft. For certain plot points, her uncle would educate her on law as well. Through reading other acclaimed writers, she would also learn tips and tricks to use throughout her writing. At 16, she’d move on her own to Throdia City to live out her dream of being a writer, her uncle unfortunately unable to come due to his job. She’d end up publishing her first book “Bell Tower” under the name Sine Nomine, and to her surprise, it was a success.

She's been publishing anon ever since, working at Winthrop to make ends meet (and to blend in).

Misc Fun Facts:

Can somehow easily think of the most disturbing deaths ever and she can tolerate blood (Luculia says she has a deadly imagination)

Her uncle sends letters to her like every week to check on her

Tbh fairly intelligent, she’s good at logical thinking and she can understand the old Arphene language which she used to help her think of her writer’s name (which I'm thinking is Latin in Arphene universe I think it's a pretty language)

Father’s from the Cattenach Empire so she’s a half - elf

Bookworm ofcc she’s a bit of a thriller fan other than murder mystery but complicated history w horror bc she hates shock value

Chess stan

Magic

Also something I think I should start touching on in OC dumps is magic sooo

Born: First Quarter Moons

Magic Type: Knives

Weapon: Wand

As always ty for the read :33 (If you're newer to my acc worldbuilding lore dump's in the pinned comment on my blog)

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disabled-is-not-a-dirty-word · 5 months ago

Note

23, 33, and 35 for disability asks ? :3

23. Do you have any tricks for living with your specific ability/symptoms?

I have several!

Hygiene Tips: A shower chair is a must for POTS. Lower the temperature of your showers too, if you can stand it. I highly recommend getting a handheld shower head with a button on it to pause the water flow. I find that I can tolerate showers with much warmer water since I started turning the water off when I'm not actively using it. I also recommend putting your head down to rinse your hair. Face wipes and bath wipes are very helpful when you feel gross or stink, but you can't bathe. Using a bidet instead of toilet paper has made the time between showers much less unpleasant for me. Try your best to keep your underwear clean. Change them regularly even if you haven't bathed

Preservation Tips: Don't always work up to your breaking point. There are times when it is necessary, but it isn't ALWAYS necessary, and if you keep pushing, you will push yourself into a flare. Additionally, don't wait until you are already in a bad place to use tools that might help you, like disability aids and medication.

Community Tips: Meet up with IRL disabled people if possible. Having online disabled friends is great, but it isn't always an accurate portrayal of day-to-day life as a disabled person. People come online to share the best and worst moments of their lives, not their mundane experiences. That can be very intimidating. Certain support groups online make it seem like becoming disabled is the end of your life, and it's not! At the same time, it's ALSO not something that you should be constantly fighting against to achieve the same feats as abled people. Living your life to the fullest doesn't mean climbing Mount Everest "in spite of your disability," it means taking care of your mind and body as best you can.

Misc: Cooling products are your best friend!!! Also, firm mattress + tons of pillows for positioning is the best way to sleep with EDS!

33. What is one story related to your illness/disability that you'd like to tell?

I recently had a spine MRI that received such rave reviews as: “Why does it look like that?”, “I've never seen a spine shaped like that before”, “did you break your spine and not notice??” and “what the hell are you even supposed to do about this?” 10/10 would spine again. Also, they didn't find what they were looking for IN SPITE OF HOW WACK MY SPINE LOOKED, so now I have to go for a brain MRI on Saturday 🥲👍

35. How do you find small moments of happiness when you're struggling?

I have to compartmentalize my mind. Of course, there is a part of my brain that is very scared about the new symptoms that I don't have explanations for yet as well as my normal nonsense, but there is also a part that is getting ready for Christmas, and another part that is preparing for my wedding, and another part that is enjoying the work that I do… and all of these things are happening simultaneously. If I let my fear and pain be all that I experience, I would be missing out on so many amazing things!

#ask game #long post #caps tw

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