#so using this one for caim if i can will be nice

[adhdvane]

okay, time to farm 70 veritas rip once i've done that (and maybe also farm the extra gospel for the character uncap), i'll just trade nwq for the remaining astra & ideans since i should get at least some along the way. at least arcarum even starts soon

[generalluxun]

Chloe goes back in time AU in terms of enemies, who does chloe see as her worst enemies an people she despises the most, I go in the order of her parents, ladybug, hawkmoth, later adrien and Sabrina and then rest.

For why her parents first, well she built herself after them in terms of looks, mannerism and personality all her life out of the believe they genuinely love her and treasure her, only to realize that they despise her and believe her a waste of time only useful for an ego boost.

Ladybug and hawkmoth for different reasons, the first one who I can guarantee chloe truly admired in her life outside her parents and who broke her heart and made her feel used, the second one who well just use as his personal attack dog all time wether she want it or not.

Adrien and Sabrina, I get she would think of them as false friends who stuck with her for lack of options and always despise her, but never actually voiced.

The rest of the people in are more in her mind back room noise at best ignored.

Special mention goes to Zoe who just like her parents convinced for a while that they were family and like adrien and Sabrina only stood by her side out of lack of options.

Different people have different reactions. Ranking isn't quite easy though some more intense than others. (These are all Chloe's opinions, not objective truths)

Her Father- The ultimate betrayal. He was her parent for most of her life. most of what she knows, she learned from him. He abused his power, so she abused his power. She did everything 'right' and it failed her. As soon as Zoe showed up he replaced her, up to and including banishing her. Her contempt for him was mimickry of her mother before, now it is genuine.

Her Mother- Her mother doesn't love her and is cruel to her. Chloe tried to be everything her mother wanted and it wasn't enough. Chloe is more sad than angry at her mother, but since sadness turns to anger with her often, it's angry too.

Zoe- Zoe cheated and betrayed her. Chloe took Zoe in and tried to teach her all the rule that Chloe had lived by. She 'caimed' Zoe when a lot of kids wouldn't touch some rando from overseas with a 10 foot pole at age 14. Zoe's betrayal works in two ways. One is that Zoe obviously picked the others over Chloe, the second is that Zoe didn't follow any of the rules and she still 'won'. That's not how it works. That being nice could work runs counter to everything Chloe knows and has experienced herself, so it causes her pain to think about it.

Ladybug- Chloe idolized her, and Ladybug abandoned her. Chloe made genuine efforts to be a good hero, she fought to protect others. She backed up her comrades when they were in danger. She rejected Hawkmoth! And... she was abandoned for it. Chloe sees Ladybug as 'fake' and two faced(which you now ties into everyone else too) She wants LAdybug to acknowledge her screw up more than anything else. She wants to show she's a better hero than Ladybug.

Marinette- They've been rivals (Derision isn't canon) forever, and Marinette won. Marinette 'stole' Adrien. Marinette went from being picked on, to picking on Chloe. Losing hurts. This isn't an extremely deep cut though honestly.

Adrien- False friend, someone who went right for others the moment he got a chance. How many times did they hang out in canon? Zero? One? Maybe? Both Zoe and Adrien basically did the same thing on different time scales. She doesn't hate him, she's hurt and angry.

Sabrina-Sabrina's backstab hurts. Chloe *does* know deep down that she was pushing Sabrina too hard. She had developed a deeper set of insecurities after Miracle Queen and so leaned even harder into emulating her mother. She doesn't know what else she could have done though, so she blames Sabrina some for leaving. She thinks the underhanded sneaky betrayal was terrible too. How can she trust Sabrina, knowing betrayal lurks in her heart? This breaking-off hurts the most out of everything though. She misses Sabrina.

Hawkmoth- He's a jerk. She would punch him in the face if she could. Same with Mayura. There's not much deep here. It's just contempt for a couple of losers.

Lila- Chloe knows in a nebulous way that Lila tricked her... somehow. She isn't smart enough to sift through it all, so it's a vague sense. She was wary of Lila before she hit her low point in S5, she's back on being wary. She doesn't think Lila has anything to offer her. All she did was lose things once she got involved with Lila.

Others-Vague sense of 'you are lame and always hated me' all her other anger/emotions are clouding up the fact they MAY have had reasons for it. None of them come up to direct ire though it's just 'Keep away from me, you suck.'

Did I miss anyone?

Felix-Oh, F that guy. She hates him. He always tricked her.

[agoddamn]

evoker uncap opinions

so far caim is the UNQUESTIONED king of evoker uncaps. crazy valuable in HL. nobody else can do what he can.

the greater issue is, the devs declared before the uncaps even came out that they would ONLY focus on passives. stream declared that the uncaps would buff backline passive, frontline passive, add new passive, and buff ougi. that means that evokers with decent skills are in a VERY good spot and evokers with shit skills are in a VERY bad spot.

caim and maria theresa demonstrate this most handily; caim's skills were already decent in concept, they just didn't work properly with one another (being unable to copy). maria theresa, by contrast, has GARBAGE fucking skills and her uncap did NOT fix her extremely gimmicky design; she's still only really designed to do the uguale/fedelta combo and then waste space. she got very little practical day-to-day use out of her uncap in spite of the 4 costing a fuckin sunstone. the passive echoes from switching to front are nice and all but you know what? water zeta does half of that with 0 frontline swapping shenanigans AS WELL AS being generally useful outside of that. so does summer cag! meanwhile, MT's healing is still super, super limited. so her uncap did very little for her, overall. it didn't fix her biggest issues.

IMO the most recent batch--nier and estarriola--got uncaps of the "good if you're already using these units but not gonna persuade you if you're not" nature.

nier's flb giving her a passive that exists solely to buff her first skill tells me that the devs lowkey regret their mission statement of "buff passives." they bent over backwards to make a passive that buffed a skill! c'mon, man.

estarriola's flb made him a better backline slut for kengo, but all his frontline buffs equal out to "ok well he can ougi now." which...i do think that needs a bit more testing before we give the final verdict on him, given the team assassin buff he gets on ougi. it gave him a new niche--his 4 means he can ALWAYS activate his ougi--but it didn't fix his more practical issues. imo, what estarriola REALLY needed was a buff to hostility and defense. i use him frequently on the frontline and i've found that 1) his frontline swap skill is so forgettable you can freely start him on frontline and 2) for a dude who needs to be hit to activate 1/3 of his skills (technically 2/3 of his skills considering the special attack one) he sure doesn't take hits all that well. a 4th skill with mitigation would have been real nice, or maybe revitalize? idk. i think there were some holes in his flb, is all.

ramblings on future predictions for the evokers i am most personally concerned with for the sake of figuring how i'll spend my sand:

they seem very interested in buffing frontline viability

i worry a bit about what alanaan will get. ferry flb is a hint since they share the same most important skill

but alanaan plays so differently when he comes from the backline vs when he starts frontline. frontline is faceroll burst, but if you're bringing him from the backline it's for HL because you need def/heal buffs/pseudohealer

somewhat similar to caim in that frontline caim is mostly for copycat memes and backline caim is completely different in playstyle

so maybe alanaan COULD get some really good passives that give him the kinda HL boost caim got? well, i'm on the hopium, but it's doubtful…

given his defensive/pseudoheal niche i expect alanaan to get a 4 with death's grace or mitigation or something else in the survivability spectrum, like unchallenged or guts or reflect. a nuke 4 would be COMPLETELY wasted

meanwhile, borger…

borger is outdated on both front and backline. multihits invalidate his backline passive and his frontline passive… (lol

everyone and thieir mother has guaranteed TA nowadays, QA is not worth the setup

borger…imo what borger NEEDS is either a buff to his offense (autonuke? yuisis/gawain echo/triple/seraphic passive?) or

a buff to his tank meme. I noticed they gave nier the very odd passive that extends her field this round; maybe borger could get a 4 (field?) that gives him single-target sub with counter like rein or baotorda? the devs clearly [and rightfully] don't consider single-target sub all that powerful

once the evoker uncaps finish up, i'm expecting one or two of them to get a rebal right after. nier's 'field fix' passive seems to show that cygames regrets not making space for skill buffs in the flb

[valgregory]

Chapter 14

*creak*

*tap tap*

Dantalion: So he lives here? Why would a demon prince choose to live in a church?

*peek*

Dantalion: Which royal family does he come from? King Asmodeus' family? But that's impossible-

Dog: Woof! Woof!

*chomp!*

Dog: Woof! Woof!

Nero: Look, I can fly~ *flap flap*

Val: If you can fly, then stop perching on my head...

Dog: Woof! Woof!

Val: Eh? What's Lancelot* barking at?

*Dog's name

Val: Lance, what's wrong? Are you hungry?

Val: What the- Dantalion!!?? What are you doing here?!

Dantalion: ...Picking you up...

Val: Huh?!

Dantalion: Aria asked me to take you to her house...

Val: I see... (you surprised me...)

Val: By the way, do you want me to get Lance off of you...?

Dantalion: Yes, please...

---

[Previously, at school...]

Aria: Val!

Jay: *munch munch*

Jin: Dammit!!

Val: What is it, Aria?

Aria: I caught one of Gio's servants last night.

Val: Oh?

Aria: Please come to my house tonight, okay?

Val: Alright...

Val: Mammon... soon, I'll find out who you are...

---

*dun dun*

Val: This guy is a demon, too? He looks so plain... in fact, he just looks like a common thug.

Dantalion: This demon... doesn't have an aura...

Val: Eh?

Dantalion: Demons can detect each other's presence by their aura... hellhounds like Marc have stronger sensitivity towards auras.

Dantalion: But this one... I can't feel his aura at all...

Aria: Exactly, Dantalion!

Aria: Gio must have cast a spell to mask his demons' auras...

Aria: That guy... really doesn't want to see me, huh...

Aria: If only you hadn't bumped into Marc that day... I might never have found you, Caim.

Aria: Now tell me where Gio is-

Caim: No way!!

Aria: Sigh, why are you so stubborn... you're becoming more and more like him.

Caim: Who do you think you are, you sly woman!!

*dash*

*whoosh*

Caim: Wuagh!!

Aria: Have you still not learned your place?

Aria: I only have business with Gio, not you. I could kill you right now if I wanted to.

Val: *brrr*

Aria: Can you two step outside for a minute?

Val: Huh? Okay...

*blam*

Caim: Wuaaaagh!!!

Val: *gasp*

Caim: What do you want- wait, what's that thing?!!

Caim: What are you trying to do with that?!!

*AAAAAAAAAAA*

Caim: ASDFGHJKLQWERTYUIOPMNBVCXZ!@#$%^&!!!!!!!

*silence*

Aria: You can come in now. I think Caim is ready to talk.

Caim: Uuuu...

Val: What did you do to him?!

Aria: First, about this briefcase... and all the money inside...

Aria: Where did you get it?

Caim: That's the debt money I collected...

Aria: So Gio's a loan shark now? He's still as materialistic as ever...

Aria: Don't tell me... he hasn't sold my grimoire, has he?

Caim: I don't know about that...

Aria: Fine. Why did he leave me, then?

Caim: Beats me.

Aria: Does he hate me?

Caim: Not my business.

Aria: Do you want to die? Answer me properly.

Caim: Ehh... no...

Aria: Then I'll ask you something that you can answer... where is Gio now?

Caim: He's... he's in...

---

Halphas: Master, Caim hasn't returned since yesterday...

Giovanni Miller: Ugh, that idiot. Did the cops get him...?

Halphas: Should I look for him?

Gio: No need... he's probably at the CD store or the game center... since all he does is fool around...

*knock knock*

Caim: Gio. It's me, Caim...

Caim: Open the door, Gio...

Gio: Huh?! Open it yourself, you lazy dumbass! Don't order me around!

Aria: Oh my, that was harsh...

*dun dun*

Aria: Caim only asked you to open the door for him...

Gio: Aria?!

Aria: You were looking for Caim, right? Here, I brought him home for you.

Aria: Long time no see... Gio.

*rise*

Gio: How did you find this place?!!

Aria: It's almost been a year, hasn't it? How have you been?

Gio: Get out of this place, now!!

Aria: How mean, Gio... I dressed up nicely just for you, you know?

Aria: And did you think you could run away from me, just like that?

Aria: That magical portal and the aura seal you used... you took all those from my grimoire, right?

Aria: Caim has already told me what you've done with the grimoire... I heard that you've even killed people with it?

Aria: You scum...

*grrt*

Aria: Now, give it back... people like you don't deserve to have it...

Gio: And if I don't want to...?

Aria: Then I'll have to use force... I have backup with me...

Vine: Hey.

Gio: Heh... no way...

Gio: You think those lowly demons are enough to stop me? You always underestimate me, Aria...

Gio: I'll never return your grimoire... you damned witch.

*dash*

Aria: !!

Gio: Halphas-!

Halphas: Yes-

*reach*

*smaaash*

*tap*

Gio: !!

Val: Hold it- don't move!!

*dun dun*

[To be continued...]

Previous chapter | Chapter 14 | Next chapter

[strongcrimsonwings]

★☽

★- Meet a canon character I currently play

"Holy fuck, that's a real life dragon," Jack Joyce said as he backpedaled. "And you've got a real sword. Don't kill me, man. I come in peace!"

I've been playing more Quantum Break lately, so Jack's muse hit hard for that one. Here's hoping he and Caim can meet. Who knows how that's gonna go, though...

☽- Meet an OC that I currently play

You met Meline already, but here it goes:

Hello there! The light purple dragon said as she landed before Caim. I see you've got a dragon too. Always nice to see one of my own around here. She turned her attention to the red dragon. You're pretty cool! Your horns are awesome, too. Wow, and your tail! That's the first time I've ever seen a tail like that!

Meline is my dragon OC. Hopefully I can use her more in RPs soon!

[blindedguilt]

Leonard's Paedophilia - Some Thoughts

So,,, yeah under the cut since this can be some triggering stuff and talks just a LITTLE about trauma from sexual abuse so be warned (it mostly just is me talking about what I think happened and some results of me glancing at a few wiki pages)

So uh,,, I decided out of sheer boredom and hope to better understand Leonard's character to do some research into the causes of paedophilia and the overall theme seemed to be reduced gray matter and/or/because of injuries in the front and mid portion of the brain (I'm certain about the frontal part, though I might have to check again to see if it was the mid-portion or something else). Of course, there is also it stemming from trauma as well.

As for my thoughts on it I honestly just think that it was an unfortunate accident/genetic(?) thing,,, moreso accident bc y'all KNOW the shit in 1067 wasn't too great,, of course there are a VARIETY of different things you could do with this, but like,,, for the sake of remaining respectful and wanting to portray Leonard the best I can, this is what I came up with.

Childhood sexual abuse seemed to be a very prominent factor in the people themselves becoming paedophiles down the line, either as a "coping method" or a plain and simple trauma response. I honestly scraped this first for a variety of reasons, mostly that it didn't fit, like, at all,,, and just,,, while it is very real it’s tiring just seeing victims of sexual assault turning into the abusers themselves and nothing else Second biggest theory regarding the origins of paedophilia in adults was about head trauma as a child, especially under 6 years of age. the idea is that it messes up the temporal While I find this whole theory to be,,, nice???? Perhaps a bit more fitting (Especially to my own rped kind of Leonard, who is as close as I can make it but with a few extra hdcs and lore,,, like how I headcanoned him to be a complete and utter klutz as a child.). I always had liked the idea of a butterfly effect, and the thought of a small accident from childhood leading into far greater consequences in the future, but that’s also where my main issue with this arises. It’s nice, fitting for the character in both my RPed version and even canonically (My headcanons being based on canonical Leonard), but I wouldn’t say it’s fitting for the tone of the story. There’s one that wins out for that. Genetic inheritance/Unfortunate mutation. In a lot of Yoko Taro stories, it seems a lot of times characters are thrown into hopeless situations and either end up being corrupted and/or broken by them or, if they already are corrupted, worsening it by their own hands. Caim’s parents being killed was ultimately out of his hands, it ended up shattering him and in many cases his bloodlust is what drives the game forward by substantially ruining or not actively looking to fix the situation. Inuart never had the slightest idea Furiae would be chosen as goddess, but eventually the protectiveness that grew for her in this situation lead him to being used by the Empire. Just about every character in not just Drakengard, but the Drakenier series in general follows this sort of character-driven pattern, which is why I think the incident that was out-of-hands for Leonard was his own birth. Being born with issues in the frontal and center areas of the brain (That in a VERY small nutshell deals with reward systems, compulsivity, and serotonin levels), worsening that situation (The deaths of his brothers while he was out-you-know-what) and thus setting the plot forward is just,,, a very Drakengard-ish way of handling things. The reason for Leonard’s paedophilia is never stated in the game, or even any of the side materials (From what I’m aware of, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if there was something lmao) and I’m honestly glad for it, because not only can I feel selfishly proud it inadvertently proved my little theory/view of it (If you can even call it a theory), but it’s just that: There is no reason. Sometimes people are just born like that. It’s a hard truth, but Drakengard isn’t really the most pleasant of games and Leonard isn’t the most pleasant of characters. I love the character because of his controversy and his writing which really allowed me to just sit back and remember “Damn, I hate to admit it but like,,, even the worst kinds of people are human, and that makes them individuals with like,,, nuance and shit” ??? if that makes sense. All in all, I honestly think they did a great job writing Leonard’s character and keeping respectfulness and awareness at the forefront. While I would have liked to see it put a bit more boldly and have it explored more (Reminder: There was gonna be a LOT of shit about Leonard’s past and his whole deal from the sound of it. But only scenes unanimously approved by the board were allowed. WHAT FUCKING SCENES ABOUT HIS PAST GOT IN BESIDES THE INTRODUCTION???? is it a secret code I gotta put in the game settings???? 0723, right??? right??????), I can really understand they had both Yoko Taro and Takuya Iwasaki on a leash during the development of this game. maybe next time, folks. The story behind why he can stand on one foot for 24 hours, though, I’m free to make whatever shit up I want about that. and trust me, i have.

[kyberphilosopher]

Tʜᴇ Cᴀɪᴍ

“ Caim (n.) sanctuary; an invisible circle of protection, drawn around the body with the hand, to remind one of being safe and loved, even in the darkest times. “

Word Count: 3893

Requested: no. i saw the idea requested by anon on another account, but the writers requests were closed. 

     .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

It seemed that the days were growing longer and longer, but unchanging in what they contained and offered. Time was distinguished to the fullest extent, dragging on in a rhythm-like march that followed you around wherever you traveled. 

It may have been a sort of depression, but the word did not come to mind when you thought about your condition. Stale, angering, stuck, dragging- these words were the ones you thought of instead. Your feelings felt numb, like you were bored of feeling whatever it was. Everything was the same, even when it was different. 

Anakin and Obi-Wan had been tasked with leading their battalion to retake Umbara for what felt like the hundredth time. They had a fair enough plan, strategic though patient. In the early stages, however, Chancellor Palpatine had called the both of them to Coruscant, leaving them to wonder who would move forward to replace them. 

Obi-Wan had initially thought of Plo Koon, who was unflappable and more than capable of commanding troops in a methodical plan. But the General was unavailable. Anakin insisted Rex and Cody could handle it on their own, but upon further thought realized Rex may not have taken well to it. The man was capable and sturdy, but seemed faltered without orders from someone he trusted so much. Granted, he had become less rigid as the war progressed, but he had also become more anguished at times. Ever since that General Krell... Nasty business on Umbara...

Obi-Wan was glad that you had accepted his request.

You were a bit of a mystery to everyone in the Jedi Order. Not in the worst way, by any means, but in the way that made you more observant than others. You spoke when spoken to, and while you didn’t often, when you said something people listened. You were a wise person with a brilliant knack for battle strategy, a stunning way of using your lightsaber, and of course- you weren’t Pong Krell.

So when Obi-Wan asked you, you accepted. You explained you had to finish your mission to fly over Ryloth with your battalion and that you would arrive shortly. The two Jedi explained to you the plan, Anakin with a bit of a charismatic nudge, and then they were on their way. 

It was fine enough. There were times when you wondered about your own Clones, but you knew they were in good hands. The 501st was under your command for the time, you had them to worry about them instead. 

For a month, things were as well as they could’ve been. The plan was on schedule, the clones respected you. You respected them in turn. But as described above, it was all slipping together in the worst way. Your feelings felt like they were aching and sore, cracking like dried dirt. Your muscles twisted in dull agony, eyes becoming less and less impressed with every experience. 

It was terrible. Your theory was that the guilt of the war and the atrocities birthed from it had climbed so high in your gut and your mind that your body made itself numb to everything. There was nothing to be happy over, not much to appreciate. But with the numbness came the blocking of all the bad things as well, and there was nothing you could do but drown in it. 

You felt exhausted, strained, overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. 

So, the days were the same. There was no point in keeping personal track of time. There was no point in having memories. No point in having standards, even. You woke up, you pushed the battalion forward, made progress, checked on the troops, and went to sleep. Sometimes you would train or give a quick report to Obi-Wan, though last time an explosion had stolen your attention midway through. 

Then, one day, it wasn’t the same. It was different. Funny how even something so small can cast a large shadow like that. 

ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ᴏᴋᴀʏ. ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴛɪʀᴇᴅ. 

It was written in tight letters, a little messy but still straight and clear. The second period was spaced a little too far away from the letters, almost as if the person had nearly forgotten it. But they wouldn’t have done that. No, they wouldn’t have. The letters, however italicized with sloppiness, are still written carefully. They might’ve been filled with anxiety just to say the words to you, more or less. 

Your thumb rolled over the scrap of paper, admiring the crispness. Someone was looking out for you. It wasn’t an accident, it was outside of your temporary room back at the base. Just by the door. 

Someone was looking out for you. Who would do that? One of the Clones? You knew they respected you. That Captain Rex was always polite enough and continued to prove his worth as an impressive soldier. Commander Cody was more than worthy of his title. And while there was a divide between the Clones and you, perhaps it was possible that one of them had cared about you enough to check in. 

Such a tiny, simple thing it was. It would’ve been silly to obsess over forever, so you didn’t. You obsessed over it for the night. 

Carefully, as if not to damage the little slip of paper, you placed it beside the shelf you slept on. Then you went to sleep after thinking about it, ready to go back to things being the same. 

It wasn’t the same. After you finished defending the perimeter of the base from some aggravated Umbaran’s, you switched your saber off with a twirl. All the same, all the same. Drowning in boredom and dull frustration, circles under your eyes as it all dragged on without the good. 

“General, are you okay?” Rex asked from beside you. You stopped your walking to turn and look at him and Cody, who were standing and sitting at the ready, still dressed in armor head to toe. It looked especially good on them, though you thought the blue fit Rex better. “You’re bleeding,” he said, nudging his head a little. 

You followed his eyes down to your arm. On your left one, around your shoulder but just above the elbow, was a long, scarlet slit. It looked almost purple in the Umbaran light, but it was dripping down nonetheless. One of the opposing soldiers must’ve nicked you. 

“Yes, I’m alright,” you said, still observing the wound. 

“It looks pretty bad, sir,” Rex continued. His arms reach up to remove his helmet and reveal his face. “Maybe you should get that checked out.”

Something brewed in your tummy, something warm that reminded you of your childhood. It felt nice that someone wanted you to be alright, even with something as minor as a scratch. This, and whoever had written you the note last night. While you weren’t so comfortable and felt a bit too tense for your liking, it was nice to hear Rex’s simple words. 

You look back up to meet his amber eyes. They’re golden, sort of brown and shining copper. “Are you two alright?” you venture to ask. Your hand comes to rub your arm, as if brushing fingers against it will wipe the injury away. 

“I thought I was a goner for a second,” Cody sighed. “Would’ve been if not for Rex.”

You looked back to the blue painted soldier with questioning eyes. Rex seems almost flustered for a second, like he’s uncertain about collecting praise. 

“Just doing my duty, sir,” he decides to say after a moment. 

A soft expression overtakes your face. “Experience outranks everything, right?”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

The note was under your door this time. Not beside it. 

ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ. ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪꜱɪɴꜰᴇᴄᴛ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴀɴᴅᴀɢᴇ. ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇꜱᴛ.

Your eyes soften as you look over the words. It meant a little more to you this time, lingered a while longer, because you honestly probably would’ve forgotten to disinfect the cut. So while you wrap your gauze around the wound you replay the kindness in your head. 

But it didn’t end there. 

ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴀᴅɪᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ. ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴀɴᴅᴀɢᴇ.

Again, your thumb rolls over the paper, across the ink. It was dried already by now, but it still felt new and clean. Crisp. 

You tucked the third slip of paper away in a metal box. The other two from the nights before stayed bright and meaningful inside. 

The pattern continued. About 48 hours later, another note arrived. Instead of under your door, it was folded like a tent outside of your door. You noticed the quality of the paper was a bit different, almost better and more thick, but you didn’t mind. You hoped whoever was doing this hadn’t felt you needed such a royal kind of paper, for the words inside were what had mattered most. 

ɪ ꜱᴀᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ. ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ. ɪ'ᴍ ɢʟᴀᴅ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ɪᴛ. ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʜᴇʟᴘ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʏ.

Your lips turned upward slowly. Your thumbs ran over the paper lovingly, as if it was someones hand and you were appreciating it. It almost felt like a hand. The words were veins. Crinkles were knuckles. Shiny ink was little scars and flecks. 

You thought of the hands of the Clones. Perhaps because they were the ones you had seen the most over the last few weeks. But you could remember one specific set of hands so clearly, even though it was almost the same as his brothers. 

Captain Rex had a white scar across his right palm. Faint and thin, surrounded by callouses from holding his blasters so tightly. You’d seen his palm the one time you’d shook his hand and remembered it from the others because of the little mark. Rex stood out from his brothers. 

You weren’t cruel enough to think all Clones were the same. They were all individuals, with individual brains and personalities and thoughts. Treating them as anything less than people was wrong, and General Krell had payed the price for it. But Rex still stood prominent in your mind. You weren’t sure why. 

It was kind of like he was typed in bold when everyone else was typed in italics. 

You showered that night, which you hadn’t bothered to do in a while. Rinsed your hair with a smile on your face, ran your fingers over your long eyelashes as they dripped with water. You felt more bare than usual somehow, all because of a group of words. It was almost comforting. 

The next morning, your aura was different. Your posture was more straightened, eyes softer, hair shinier and clean. You still felt that same dull tension and thickness in the air, but it wasn’t as harsh today. You had woken up feeling brighter. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

“Good morning, General,” Rex greeted as he approached you. His helmet was tucked under his arm, with Commander Cody at his side. Both their faces were pulled into stern frowns as always, as if they were programmed for seriousness. The few times you had seen these two specific Clones smile had been a bit of a relief to you. 

“Captain. Commander,” you returned. 

“We’re supposed to move out of here soon, right General?” Cody asks. You nod your head. 

“We’re just entering phase 3. We should be done in the next few weeks.”

“Anything you need from us, General?”

You look around, gazing at your soldiers in the indigo light of the system. You could feel how tired and strained they were. It was different from your own strain, more physical. You felt guilty for this, as you were responsible for them, but you knew it would’ve happened with Skywalker and Kenobi anyway. 

“I’m mostly concerned with keeping the men in spirit,” you say with a sigh. Both the men swell with satisfaction at the sound of your voice saying ‘men’. Not Clones. Not numbers. Men. “Anything to try and help that is enough.”

Commander Cody nodded, appreciating the sentiment. “Right away, General,” he said. He turned on his heel and marched off, respect in his identical soldier heart. 

“He’s a good man,” you say as you watch him. The white and golden streaks walk further and further away. 

“He is,” says Rex as he watches him over his shoulder as well. “I’m proud to call him my brother.”

The corner of your lips raises in a flash. It’s a brief wave of warmth coming from the sincerity of people. It’s difficult to find as a Jedi within yourself, only because of how forbidden it is. It’s difficult to find in other people at a time of war, but here is the best. Between Rex and Cody, between Rex and his men. 

The smile disappears before Rex turns around. He turns to find your eyes already on him, observing. 

“Something I can do for you?” you question. You had expected him to leave with Cody, but you can feel the heat radiating off of him, even from the distance between you. You’re not close by any means, but he feels... warm. 

Rex’s shoulders raise as his mouth opens, then closes. Like he wanted to say something. He shakes his head a little, fumbling. “Did you sleep alright, General?”

You’re not as close to the 501st as Kenobi or Skywalker. Not close enough to talk about something outside of the war or planning. This takes you off guard. “Better than I have in a while,” you say, almost tentatively. “You?”

“Don’t worry about me, General,” Rex chuckles. “I’m alright. Just tired of being here is all.”

You agree wholeheartedly. Before you can vocalize this, someone calls you. You nod politely towards Rex before walking off. He watches as you go. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ. ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ.

A shaky sigh escapes you. This person was serious about doing this for you. After the guilt, the boredom, the frustration and the slow, agonizing burn from being where you were, this one wasn’t giving up. You could almost... relax. Relax into the notes like one might in a lovers arms. 

Little by little, you collapsed in on yourself with every new note. 

ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴊᴏʙ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇᴅ.

ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴀᴘᴘɪɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴍᴀᴋᴇꜱ ᴍʏ ᴅᴀʏ, ɪ ᴡɪꜱʜ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜱᴇᴇ ɪᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ.

ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴇɴ.

ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ꜱᴛᴜɴɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ. ɪ'ʟʟ ʀᴇᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ɪᴛ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ.

With each note you received, the more your heart shook. 

You could feel... calm, when you got these. After being a protector and guardian, someone was doing the same for you. Alleviating tension and stress from your shoulders. The knots of your back were untwisting slowly, the strings of your heart pulling. Sometimes, in the dead of the Umbaran night, if you thought too hard about it, tears would prick your eyes. 

It was so... kind. Doing this for anyone at all, but especially you. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

During the last week of the mission, you were returning back to your room. Rounding the corner, you bumped into none other than the famed Captain himself. 

His army was bulky and sharp against you, but you didn’t mind. You were too busy running into it to really notice. You bumped back before anything could happen, blinking a few times. 

“General!” the man gasped in a slightly high voice. His hands reached out to steady your shoulders, although it wasn’t necessary. “I’m sorry, General. I didn’t see you there,” Rex said quickly. Nervously. 

“It’s alright,” you promised. “There’s no problem.”

Wait a minute. Rex had no business being down this way. He slept with the other troops in the nearby facility. He had insisted on it. “What are you doing here?”

Rex swallows, confirming his anxiety. His hands drop away from you and he takes a respectful step back, keeping his posture upright and formal. “I was just... just running an inspection sir.”

“Running an inspection... in the hallway to my quarters?”

“Yes! Ah, Cody requested it.”

An eyebrow raised. “Cody requested you to run an inspection in the hallway to my quarters?”

“Yes.”

Your shoulders shift. Arms come up to cross as you look up at the Captain. “Why?”

“Just... general inspection stuff.”

“Hey, Rex?” you continued, leaning forward. 

“Yes, sir?” Rex replied, stiffening like a true soldier would. 

“You’re a bad liar.”

His amber eyes widen for a moment. You can feel his heart rate pick up, the sweat begin to form on his palms. His throat goes dry as his brain struggles to stop and go at the same time, somehow working both a parsec per minute and not at all. 

“You’re dismissed,” you decide casually. “Go on.”

Rex opens his mouth to say something more, but then closes it. With a slow nod like an ashamed child, he moves past you and continues down the wall. 

You watch his back. He turns to get a final look at you as he goes, but this makes your heart jump and you surge yourself forward. 

There’s another note at your door. Folded again, clean and proper. A relaxed smile graces your lips. Finally, after all the combat of the day, you were where and with what you wanted. The notes had become the highlight of your life. 

You reach down with outstretched fingers and open it. Your body is letting go of the anxiety already, more than happy to welcome the new words. 

ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ.

The love and appreciation fills your heart in place of the anger and frustration you’d been feeling. All the feelings of being trapped or drifting away as you succumb to the kind ones words.  

You can’t help it. It’s like melting into the words as easy as falling into a soft mattress. It felt like all the blood of the stress and pain was evaporating as you gazed at the words. Like an ocean that carries everything you’ve been feeling away from you with the waves. The tide takes the weight from you in the simple stroke of a pen. 

You’re special. You matter. 

You turn your head back down the hallway, to the point where you had bumped into your Captain. You knew he hadn’t come down this way for an inspection, but what if he had come down this way for you. Solely you. A note for you. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

You don’t drop your gaze from his eyes. 

They’re flickering around, almost looking for an escape. He feels the pressure you’re putting on him from just a look and a stance. He feels the weight of your words, however passive they may be. But you don’t dare buckle or shiver. 

“Find anything interesting during your inspection, Rex?” you asked. 

Cody looked over at his comrade, who was visibly disturbed by the situation. Rex was looking between your eyes, his own skirting back and forth between left and right. “You ordered an inspection?” he asked his brother. 

Your lips twitch into the faintest of smirks. Rex knows he’s done for. He knows you know now, and he’s watching the intelligence dance in your eyes from the situation. Oh, he should’ve known better than to not only overstep his bounds, but attempt to deceive a Jedi as well! He’s ruined himself now! What will you do to him now? 

Rex struggles to form words. “Ah... I-”

“You misunderstand,” you said quickly. Your eyes didn’t leave the Captain’s, almost like a dare. “The Captain and I share many inside jokes.”

Cody sighs humorously. “I didn’t realize you two were so close, General.”

Rex didn’t remember what happened next. He may not have wanted to. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴀᴠᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ, ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀ ʀᴇᴍᴀʀᴋᴀʙʟᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ ꜱɪɢʜᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇʜᴏʟᴅ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ.

You smile softly at this one, solidified in how it makes you feel. All the notes- no he- he has done this. He’s the one who saw your invisible suffering, and softened it for you all on his own. Not because he had to, but out of the sheer kindness of his heart. He wanted you to be alright, for one reason or another, and he had done what he felt was right to get there. 

It made you feel safe, protected. Calm. 

You tuck the note away with all the others, in the little metal box by where you rest. You don’t receive anymore for the rest of the week, limiting your interaction with the Captain. You talked only when necessary on the battlefield. 

You led the troops to victory, pushing your final assault. Retaking Umbara had proven a lengthy and difficult task, but you had of course prevailed. It was partially owed to Kenobi and Skywalker, for conceiving such a wise plan, but your praise was not hindered. When you had alerted Obi-Wan of the success, he was glad his faith in you was not misplaced. All was well. 

That night, while the troops celebrated and you returned to your quarters, you found the last note you would receive on the system. You hadn’t expected it, but you were overjoyed to see it. 

ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ᴡᴇ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ, ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴʏᴡʜᴇʀᴇ. ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴍʏ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ, ᴍʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

“I’m glad it was a success,” Obi-Wan said with a relaxed smile. Anakin folds his arms, an eyebrow raising. 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Kenobi. Your plan was responsible for the victory,” you say in turn. Your eyes catch your soldier- your favorite soldier- walking in the background. His blue painted armor is chipped, and he’s waving his hands around for effect as he speaks under his helmet. 

“How was Rex?” Anakin asks. “I hoped he behaved himself. I was worried he wouldn’t feel comfortable working under any Generals he didn’t know.”

You watch Captain Rex from behind them. You can imagine his golden eyes lighting up as he hears his comrades laugh. The careful way he had written his feelings out for you in any attempt to provide you with a circle of protection. Ironic, considering you were the one tasked with the protecting. 

“He’s proved himself useful,” you say. You watch as the man slips his helmet from his head and tuck it under his arm. 

“He certainly is a good man,” Obi-Wan agrees, him and Anakin turning to watch the Clone. 

“Yes,” you whisper, a soft smile creeping over your face as you commit the Captain to memory. “He is.”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

I didn’t check this for spelling errors. I’ll do it later, I just want to put something out. And if this gets enough asks for it then I’ll make a part two, because I think it might work idk.

Taglist: @haztory​ @omg-we-really-doo​ @chokemeanakin​ @anakinswhore​ @.drunk anon (i know you said you liked rex) @fanficsforheartandsoul​

[voicelesshatred]

@drachenblood​ :: ​ ❤ + referentblood @ritterblood​ ::  ❤ + referentblood u__u

Positivity Time (❤ +URL) [meme] :: Accepting

.:OOC「 The fact that you both demand that I toss love at your bestie is heartwarming. Just sayin’. Without further outing myself as a miserable Aymeric simp and making this post come off as creepy, everything I’ve loved about him is present in Biscuit’s portrayal. Everything. The kindness in the face of adversity, the compassion he holds for others, the devotion and dedication to both his home and his loved ones... kill me, I love him. And just like I said about Taco, the writing is goddamn poetry. Every. Time. The canon of FFXIV presented us with some good shit but Biscuit gave us The Good Shit™. His Aymeric is charming to read and I sure as shit catch emotions over it. Clean emotions, I swear. Don’t look at me like that. I think I’ve only spoken to him OOC twice but it was a bit of planning and a fucking apology on my behalf because I suffer Dalmatian Brain™ and I still owe you a starter for Brother Nier, I’m so goddamn sorry, Biscuit. But he came across to me as very nice and I look forward to becoming a proper writing partner with him. And as always, apologize every other couple of minutes for the shitshow Caim can and will start should they interact. (Can we give Aymeric a vacation afterwards? He’ll need it. XD)

[infertilehunger]

@blindedguilt​ (cont. from here)

Arioch’s sad little laughs continued and she stayed close only to keep messing with the man’s hair. She wasn’t entirely listening to him but just kept murmuring to herself until he’d lightly swept her hands away. She frowned at that and bowed her head in disappointment. “He gets on my nerves,” Arioch finally said as Leonard spoke of her comment about Caim. “He shows us such pretty things but he gets on my nerves. I just want to get rid of him. It’d be nice, you know it’d be nice. I can devour him... Just swallow him up, get rid of him... Ehehehehehee~” Her laugh dropped quickly and she staggered a step back. “You know he’ll hurt the boy, that sweet child... so sweet... If I consume him, the annoying one, would that be enough?”

[zoe-dinh]

Shameless Media: A Start-up's Guide To Digital Stakeholder Engagement

OVERVIEW

Today’s businesses exist in a world where everything is rapidly changing. How organisations communicate with stakeholders, and vice versa, have been transformed by the digital age.

Not only are stakeholders powerful and tech-savvy, thanks to digital media, they now also have direct contact with companies and organisations 24/7 (Ozer 2020).

Companies therefore are much more accountable for their conduct and value (Tench & Yeomans 2017). This can either play to their advantage, or hinder it in a critical way.

As such, businesses need to foster relationships with stakeholders by leveraging the power of digital media. The goal is to have a community of people who support the organisation, who resonates with the brand’s value and message.

An example of modern organisations championing this is Shameless Media. Utilising digital media, Shameless engages with their stakeholders through strategic branding and content marketing.

How can we capture people’s hearts and minds in an attention economy? Let’s learn from this millennial start-up.

CASE STUDY: SHAMELESS MEDIA

Profile

Shameless Media (SM) is a millennial gen Z’s destination for all things digital content. Operated in Melbourne by a team of five young women, the company was founded in 2019 by writers Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews.

Although relatively young, the podcast venture has accumulated a consumer base of over 20 million listeners, plus a growing community of 220,000+ followers across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. SM also recently created a brand-new agency for content creators and influencers, The Sana Agency.

Stakeholders

Since its inception, the podcast has not had a single episode that has not been sponsored (Forbes 2021). More notably, Shameless listenership is overwhelmingly 94.7% women in their 20s (Gillezeau 2021).

SM's key stakeholder groups thus include:

1. Consumers: audiences, readers, listeners; and

2. Sponsors: collaborators, business partners.

Current digital operations

PLATFORMS

1. Podcast

At first glance: Eye-catching cover. Good tag line (“The pop culture podcast for smart people who love dumb stuff”). Almost always seen in the Top Charts.

My thoughts: I was surprised to discover how new the podcast is. Its popularity, large growing number of listeners and content quality make Shameless seem a lot more established.

Open and honest, the hosts are not afraid to let audience knows where they stand on critical issues (feminism, politics, climate change etc.). New episodes are regularly scheduled which is good for audience retention.

As a consumer, I am drawn to the show/company for their seeming authenticity and relatability. Not to mention the well-balanced research that allows audience to form their own opinions without being spoon-fed. 10/10 recommend.

2. Website

At first glance: Layout is easy to look at. Visually appealing. All relevant info seems to be there.

My thoughts: Nice design, but not as much interactivity as I would have liked. When I tried looking for more information on the founders and organisation, something like an About Us section for example, there was none. Neither was there any resource or material on the business side of things (annual reports or data analytics or anything of the sorts).

One may excuse this considering the age of the organisation. However, I believe SM might benefit from a website update or revamp. It will certainly be helpful for those like me who are curious, who do research on the firm and would therefore like more access to information.

3. Instagram

At first glance: Quite large following. Relatively high audience engagement. Content layout not my personal taste, but appealing overall.

My thoughts: Shameless has great social media presence, especially on Instagram. The company made good efforts in interacting with followers. There are the ‘Your say Fridays’, polls and Q&A every other day on Stories. Users regularly comment on posts (memes, podcast updates & announcement), and many get replies from admin.

Overall, Shameless is doing very well with social media engagement and audience interactions.

4. Facebook

At first glance: Not much to see/do as this is a private group. Nice cover image though.

My thoughts: Large community of readers of nearly 34,000 members. The group has been active since 2019. While discussion threads cannot be publicly viewed, those interested in the content can find related episodes on the Shameless podcast.

Over on Instagram, there are links in bio to the book-selling site for each month’s pick. Makes me wonder whether or not these are affiliate links.

5. LinkedIn

At first glance: Small-to-medium sized following. Appealing visuals, though not too much information.

My thoughts: I have seen the Shameless LinkedIn profile before, but has only started following them recently. The account is not too active, the latest post was from a few months ago. Perhaps this is because the content that circulates on LinkedIn often revolves around business culture, not the usual focus by SM. Most of the posts thus far are general announcement and job openings.

In the future, SM might be benefit from a more active LinkedIn page, so as to not only attract new audience and potential talents, but also to establish their presence more firmly among competitors in the corporate world.

DIGITAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

The corporate brand is constantly being co-created by organisation with their stakeholders. Dialogical communication is said to enhance this along with corporate reputation (Gundolf et al. 2018; Ozer 2020; Rosenberg & Seager 2017).

In reality, what might this look like?

From tactics to dialogic communication in digital media, let’s look at how SM has been engaging with stakeholders.

Dialogical communication in digital media

Tactics

Potential areas of improvement

Lack of strategy

Upscaling the business

Other types of content, especially video

CONCLUSION

So far, leveraging social media has helped Shameless achieve their goal and stay true to their brand. “Win their niche, core audience, nurture specific community of mostly young working women” (Gillezeau 2021).

The company’s success is in no small way thanks to the relationship they have with their audience. SM has intimate understandings of what the audience wants, and are able to deliver it.

This is in large part due to the founders being in the same demographics as their audience. As McDonald put it, “[W]e wanted to tap into a younger demographic that we thought were generally being ignored by mainstream media” (Forbes 2021), which explains the company slogan.

“We make content for ourselves, our mates, and you”.

Branding and content wise, SM is doing a good job capitalising on the trends, particularly with interactive content, content marketing, and online content communities (Clark-Keane 2021; Thomson 2019).

Yet, it is also important to note the fortunate position SM finds themselves in. As a millennial start-up, they are already advantaged by having skills in digital media and technologies.

Nonetheless, through forces of strategic digital communication, Shameless Media has been successfully engaging with their stakeholders through a combination of clever branding and content marketing.

---

REFERENCES

Clark-Keane, C. 2021, ‘7 Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2021’, Wordstream, https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2020/11/23/content-marketing-trends

Forbes, T. 2021, ‘How I Do It: Shameless Media’s Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews on building their empire’, Fashion Journal, https://fashionjournal.com.au/life/how-i-do-it-shameless-media/

Gillezeau, N. 2021, ‘Shameless Media: The podcast start-up that’s rejecting big offers’, Australian Financial Review, https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/how-they-built-it-shameless-media-20210330-p57fbu

Gundolf, K., Jaouen, A. & Gast, J. 2018, ‘Motives for strategic alliances in cultural and creative industries’, Creative Innovation Management, vol. 27, pp. 148-160, DOI: 10.1111/caim.12255

Johnston, J. & Rowney, K. 2019, ‘Social networks’, Media Strategies: Managing Content, Platforms and Relationships, Taylor & Francis, Sydney, pp. 75-103.

Kim, K. 2021, ‘How to make sure you’re marketing to Gen Z the right way’, Sprout Social, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/marketing-to-gen-z/

Ozer, D. 2020, ‘Organisations’ use of social media from the perspective of dialogical communications and marketing-oriented public relations’, In B.O. Aydin, S. Gurbuz & O, Dugan (eds.), Public Relations in the Networked Publics, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, pp. 211-235.

Rosenberg, M. & Seager, P. H. 2017, ‘The Big Picture: Four Trend that Change Everything’, Managing Media Businesses, Retrieved from ProQuest EBook Central, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-52021-6_1

Smart Insights 2020, ‘7 ways to reach and influence millennials using social media marketing’, https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/7-ways-to-reach-millennials-through-social-media-marketing/

Tench, R. & Yeomans, L. 2017, ‘Exploring Public Relations’, Global Strategic Communication, Pearson Education, Harlow, Available from: ProQuest EBook Central (14 August 2021).

Thomson, C. 2019, ‘Top Marketing Trends For 2020’, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2019/10/03/top-marketing-trends-for-2020/#6889ba113d5d

-END-

[adhdvane]

okay, like the world fight is so much fun and i’m so glad i pushed myself to get caim 5*’d so i could do it. i was concerned it might be difficult. and then i was concerned the + version would be difficult. but it was great! i have to imagine part of what made it not scary was caim himself (at lv 95+). using sandy to make the boss have turns of elemental friction while trying to get threo knocked out so caim could come in with the fool upright and give EVERYONE suit stacks. the biggest deal being those diamond stacks that are just a permanent water switch. the spade stacks are nice too so even when elemental friction is off, the hits are still weak point hits (the seraphic boosts from weapon/summon don’t apply tho). the healing specs are insane, but we’re barely taking any damage. the ONE time we took big damage was when I didn’t know the + version of the fight had a SECOND terminal crisis trigger at 20%, so I didn’t have Galleon’s plain damage saved for it. So... we all got hit with 70% plain damage of our current hp. But it was completely negligible bc Beginning of Joker was off cooldown, so I cast vita brevis for an over 5000 heal (may have been 6k at that point, if not it was close), and then copied and skill and caim healed us for over 9000 hp ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` ) over 9000 jfc (well except for sandy lol. he had to suffer with low hp bc he can only be healed by his measly 1000 hp a turn innate deaths grace) and that was before I went and realized, oh i finished all the domain boosts on caim but i never filled in the other 9* of his emp (only ever did his crit nodes and the em skill). so i dumped 6 into the two heal nodes and the put the rest in defense (i am very rarely trigging club trick for the delay and when i do the timing is always annoying as fuck, so i don’t think the debuff success nodes have any use, esp since he’s getting switch in activating his sup skill + his domain bonus ability so he’s likely to have max stacks of club very fast which gives him 50% debuff success at max). Before those nodes boy had 70% boost to healing specs, now he should have 110%. I am interested to see how the fight goes once the event is over, bc I did have the extra 20% ATK, 20% HP, 10% DMG Cap from the event. the damage out put for my earth in the arcarum is insane. anyways. i’m gunna go try and kill the eletion glider a bunch more times bc apparently that’s how i unlock the other two 25% special c.a. dmg cap up in the universal guid book. hitting 9.9 mil with the 50% increase on the hard cap is not enough. i crave more.

[elizabeatrice]

The Simp, The Himbo, and The Bone Man (Chapter 65)

Let’s Talk About JSHK Manga #1

Warning: !!!Manga spoilers up to chapter 65!!! Duh.

Note: I don’t speak Japanese, and I’m using Nikko Scanlations’ translation of chapter 65. Props to them for translating so fast! There’s one mangacap from chapter 60 by Caim, and one from chapter 64 by Ropes of Fate. Ya know what, props to all JSHK fantranslators. Love y’all!

I’m proud of the title. Heheh.

Ok so I read chapter 65 and then proceeded to get thrown on board SS Confusion.

Before we begin I gotta say I’m loving the faces we got in chapter 65. Thanks, sensei.

I wasn’t really surprised that we didn’t get to see hananene or akaoi this chapter. I mean, sensei just impaled my boy and last chapter was angst fest all around so naturally they’re gonna jump to comedy/something lighter in this one because … well, it’s JSHK.

Let’s get chronological.

The. Colored. Art. Is. So. Fricking. Gorgeous.

I love the whole thing with Kou worrying about his friends. Baby boy why you so wholesome can I hug him pLeAsE!

Yokoo and Satou are super cool as well! My baby Yokoo you outshine the morning sun, my son. It’s nice seeing more of them, caring about Kou no less. Gaaahhh the friendship fluff

Apparently this arc is going to delve into the whole ‘friends not telling each other things’. Exhibit A: Akane, Nene, and Aoi. Exhibit B: Satou and Yokoo and Kou.

Heck the tagline of this month’s colored art is ‘no one knows the real me’. Interesting development. I love me some friendship drama.

Yep. I’m loving where this chapter is going. Kou is feeling useless yet again. His brother is away who knows where, Akane is still lovesick insane, and Tsuchigomori won’t tell him the future. Not to mention that Hanako and Nene are missing. Kid’s literally on his own.

Until-

Ey yo Mitsuba how’re ya doin’? It’s very nice to see him caring about Kou, especially after what happened last arc.

And then the simp showed up. I love him.

(By the way isn’t his Raitejou still sealed? How is he conjuring those lightnings? Maybe he was just hitting that apparition with it?)

Finally! Kou meets his broadcasting club trio equivalent, and Natsuhiko meets his toilet trio equivalent. This is something I didn’t know I needed. Thank you sensei.

Now Natsuhiko’s definitely got something up his sleeve, from the way he seemed to prevent Mitsuba from telling Kou who he is (and most importantly, who he’s affiliated with).

Hm … Tsukasa wants No. 6, eh? Ohhh boy.

Mitsuba falling asleep right away lmaoooo. Look at these dumbasses.

And I can’t believe Kou fell for those ‘heroic stories’. Poor Hanako, his two best friends are (lovable) easily-tricked idiots hahaha. I mean, Kou is such a pure soul, bless him and his dog ears and tail. Thank you, sensei. You’ve fed us well.

Then … Bone Man. I actually call him Goat Man, but let’s just stick with Aoi’s lovely nickname (his name is Shinigami-san thoooo).

Interesting development. He be OP af man. The guy literally controls both life and death. Do NOT let that >60 year-old psycho child gets him.

I know it kinda seems like, oh, there’s the glaringly obvious answer to Nene’s lifespan problem. But as we know, there are prices to magic, and Bone Man doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to break the rules. I mean the dude wants to close off boundaries to keep the two shores completely separate, and is willing to sacrifice a girl to do it.

Yeeaaahhh … he’s a bit lawful evil imo, but we still don’t really know him yet, so. Eh.

Then Bone Man dropped this month’s bomb.

Did Nene, Akane, and Aoi just die? What freaking else can you call ‘body decaying, leaving the soul behind’ other than dying?

Not to mention not one (1) kannagi fell into the whole. TWO (2) kannagi fell into the whole, along with a dead boy and a soon-to-be-dead boy. Will that change the equation?

Speaking of dying, remember what Aoi said about No. 6? People who are about to die soon can hear No. 6′s flute? And Nene heard it?

Is this what ‘going to die in less than a year’ means for Nene? Thrown into a hole deep enough to the point of no return, a hole full of giant creepy bugs, her body decaying and leaving her soul behind, and thrown there by her own best friend no less?

This, this is wild.

But Hanako said in Misaki Stairs arc that nothing lives and nothing dies in the boundary. Is this an exception? Does the hole lead to a place outside the boundary? Is it a gate to the far shore (y’know, since there’s no returning from death unless No. 6 intervenes)?

And apparently Aoi falling there was ‘according to plan’? Hm … Aoi didn’t seem to know that the last time we saw her. She didn’t want Akane to drag her with him, remember? She could be lying, I guess. But Akane, Nene, and Hanako didn’t need to be sacrificed too. Maybe she was brainwashed not to care?

See, SS Confusion.

I know we all miss our monthly hananene, but be patient my friends! Sensei are working hard, and, well, this sort of thing comes with the whole monthly update format.

(Guys. Guys. Daydream arc is about 20 chapters long. Thats one year and eight months. It almost took two years to finish that arc. And seeing that this arc is a lot more plot driven than Daydream - which is more character driven imo - I’m kinda scared. Heh.)

Anyway! I enjoyed this chapter and all the dumbasseries featuring Natsuhiko, Kou, and Mitsuba. Really lifts the mood in this condition, ya know?

Feel free to discuss with me if you want to!

[agoddamn]

Evoker 4 ranking thus far:

1) Caim

-Power gap-

2) Nier

3) Estarriola

4) Maria Theresa

Caim FLB is just dummy good and his 4 is the crown jewel. I don't think I even need to explain it at this point. It's four skills for the price of one!

Nier comes second because...sigh...suping up the MC in the Ereshkigal element is quite good. Can't deny that.

I'd call Estarriola's average. It lets him ougi spam, which is...cool but not exactly what his kit needed IMO. I felt like it needed something about hostility up, defense, or substitute to ensure his skills actually activate and he survives it. They're one-hit skills, so they don't enable beak abuse. What he got, though, was a good buff to his backline support capabilities and his frontline usefulness only got a mediocre buff in the form of random debuffs on ougi. His 4 doesn't solve that. It'll let you debuff more frequently, which is certainly nice, but it doesn't fix his existing problems or synergize with his gameplay loop. Still, I can't really call permanent debuffs bad. So, third.

Maria Theresa's dead last because it doesn't solve the problems of her skill downtime. Her 4 doesn't even sync with her dispel skill, so FA can dick you over with it!

I lowkey suspect MT will quietly get a rebal to synergize with fucking something in water; maybe she'll get a guaranteed triples-type passive so she can be a gorilla? If you're not casting skills, you should at least be doing damage.

[y0noirs]

Little D. of Pride // Favorite Genre please dont look too closely at this ksdfshjdh i fumbled with this one

one’s information is under the cut !!

LITTLE D. OF PRIDE / NUMBER ONE

His true name is Caim.

Reserved and polite, he is nice enough when the MC speaks to him, but if provoked, he won’t hesitate to spit out devastating insults. He is mostly straightforward and blunt and doesn’t like sugar-coating things. He is very honest, almost overbearingly so. His mind is quick, much like his tongue. As polite as he can be, One is mostly very self-absorbed, even to the point where he can be forgetful about matters not about himself. He doesn’t pay much attention to his surroundings and often ends up being unable to read the atmosphere. He loathes being embarrassed or teased and will lash out if he is. One has an annoying tendency to be condescending. Many demons find him hard to deal with, but he doesn’t really mind considering he doesn’t care much for companions anyway.

He enjoys reading books, but he mostly reads fiction, especially romance. He also likes keeping his things neat and organized, as well as his appearance. He takes great pride in his orderly belongings and is quite vain. He spends a surprising amount of time getting ready in the morning and actually gets tips from Asmodeus for facial and body care.

While he is technically a subordinate of Lucifer’s, he looks down on him a little. One takes great pride in being dispensable and useful for all sorts of tasks. He thinks that Lucifer, being so prominent and powerful, isn’t like him (and is a little delusional that way). Still, he is very cordial and civil with Lucifer and even admires him a little. However, his loyalty to Diavolo is first and foremost.

Because he keeps to himself, it often seems like he doesn’t like the MC. However, he actually enjoys giving challenges to them and tries to be as helpful as he can so that they can complete their tasks. He doesn’t talk much to them, however.

One’s nails are naturally long and sharp. His nails are venomous, and a single scratch from him is fatal to a human. His venom can cause severe fever and pain for demons, but for angels, his scratch is merely a scrape that will heal over time. His special attack makes use of his long, venomous nails and is called “WALC NOSIOP.”

His main job is to coordinate and organize RAD or Devildom events due to his spectacular organization skills. Other jobs he has is to delegate tasks to lower demons under Diavolo or Lucifer. Occasionally, he is helping Four keep the other Little D’s in check.

[lunefrog]

if youre making a circle outside...

first and foremost, dont use salt. salt will make it so plants can't grow there. a grain here or there is fine but, i've made this nice list of alternatives, in case you're out of ideas and indoor space

💐 Rice - cooked or uncooked, it is actually safe for birds! cooked rice is easier for them to digest, but a little harder to maneuver into a circle. protective and delicious

🍑 Popcorn - i dont think anyones going to try this but i certainly will. string it up and set it out, and boom! another edible circle for you and your forest friends (id personally reccomend the stovetop kind ;p, no salt of course)

💐 Eggshells - I've seen many people reccomend this as a salt alternative and i think its great! though you'd get more protection out of crushed eggshells rather than the powder, but the powder is more convenient

🍑 Epsom Salts - though it shares the "salt" title, epsom salt is perfectly safe for use on the ground! provided its not from a bath powder mix where there could be actual salt in it.. customizeable power through oils but.. kind of expensive

💐 Bones - aside from looking sick as hell, bones are strong and you will be protected through the power of the dead. as long as you ask permission first

🍑 Candles - again, another aesthetic circle, protection by power of the flame. bonus if you carve protection sigils on em. just ah, make sure you arent in a wooded area for this one. only you can prevent forest fires

💐 Rope - make a good old fashioned caim, babey! things can be braided into it, like feathers or thorns, to make a witches ladder of sorts

🍑 Flowers/Plants - if you have the time and energy, consider making a permanent/semi-permanent circle with flowers! bulbs would be best, but anything goes

💐 Bloodmeal - can be bought at any garden center, and i feel like this one speaks for itself. has the added bonus of being very, very metal

🍑 Wood/Potash - as long as you arent burning down the woods to do it you should be fine

💐 Chalk - good ole chalk! pretty sure it comes in spray form for use on grass. knock yourself out makin some funky shapes

🍑 Snow/Ice - if youre just a total freak like that i guess you could. be fast or it'll melt

[glentheapprentice-arcanawriter]

Been Busy, Here’s The Masterpost

So, I’ve been reblogging some ask ideas, and I will leave them up so the original posters and rebloggers are credited, but here is the masterpost so you can just look through them. I might do them in order if I have an idea for them, and I am open for asks. Just put them in, and what characters you want them to be centered on. 

For future reference, the characters of the Slime Rancher AU have been affected by an age-old concept that addresses the fact that no human can pass another without impacting the other’s life in some way. The characters in the AU are different in personality (only somewhat in some situations) than the ones in canon. 

And with that, let’s make the masterpost. 

Masterpost under the bar. 

Emoji Prompts

🎂 : A birthday headcanon.

💩 : An embarrassing headcanon

💀 : An injury headcanon

👄 : A kiss headcanon

💔 : A breakup headcanon

🌟 : A secret wish headcanon

💍 : A marriage headcanon

👶 : A family headcanon

💧 : A sad headcanon

🛁 : A bathing headcanon

🛏 : A sleeping headcanon

💥 : A fighting headcanon

😳 : A confessing headcanon

👔 : A clothing headcanon

❤ : A romantic headcanon

☁️ : A soft headcanon

🌑 : A dark headcanon

😜 : A random headcanon

🎃 : A halloween headcanon

😤 : A jealousy headcanon

⌛ : A final headcanon

🌡: A sick headcanon

🍺 : A drunk headcanon

🧨 : An unexpected headcanon

Beautiful Words Prompts

Waldeinsamkeit (German) - the feeling of being alone in the woods, solitude, and a connectedness to nature

Iktsuarpok (Inuit) - refers to the feeling of anticipation when you’re expecting someone that leads you to constantly check to see if they’re coming

Komorebi (Japanese) - sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees.

Kilig (Tagalog) - the thrilling feeling of butterflies in your stomach when something romantic happens.

Hiraeth (Welsh) - homesickness mixed with grief and sadness over the lost or departed, or a type of longing for the homeland or the romanticized past.

Hyggelig (Danish) - warm, friendly, cozy, delightfully intimate moment or thing.

Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan, Tierra del Fuego) - the wordless, meaningful look shared by two people who both want to initiate something, but are reluctant to do so.

Utepils (Norwegian) - to sit outside enjoying a beer on a sunny day.

Tidsoptimist (Swedish) - a person who is always late because they think they have more time than they do; a time optimist.

Bhava (Sanskrit) - when you’re in a mental state of bliss or peace, a oneness that flits into you, especially when you’re listening to music.

Samar (Arabic) - staying up late and having conversations with friends or family.

Cafuné (Portuguese) - the act of tenderly running one’s fingers through a loved one’s hair.

Retrouvailles (French) - a reunion (e.g., with loved ones after a long time apart).

Naz (Urdu) - assurance/pride in knowing that the other’s love is unconditional and unshakable.

Fargin (Yiddish) - ungrudging and overt (expressed) pride and happiness at other’s successes.

Apnapan (Hindi) - having a quality where you accept people, think of them as your own, take care of the ones you love, not for anything in return.

Meriggiare (Italian) - to rest at midday in a shady spot.

One Word Ideas

A aeipathy (n.) - an enduring and consuming passion aleatory (n.) - relying on chance or an uncontrolled element in the details of life or in the creation of art alharaca (spanish, n.) - an extraordinary or violent emotional reaction to a small issue anacampserote (n.) - something that can bring back a lost love antiscians (n.) - people who live on opposite sides the world, “whose shadows at noon are cast in opposite directions” áoyè // 熬夜 (chinese, n.) - to pull an all-nighter   appetence (n.) - an eager desire, an instinctive inclination; an attraction or a natural bond aranyhíd (hungarian, n) - “the golden bridge”; the reflection of the sun as it shines on water aspectabund (adj.) - letting or being able to let expressive emotion show easily through one’s face and eyes asterismos (n.) - “marking with stars”; a word that gives weight or draws attention to the words that follow aswium // 아쉬움 (korean, n.) - the mingled feeling of disappointment, frustration, and regret that results from an unsatisfactory situation atermoiements (french, n.) - distractions or hesitations leading to procrastination avos’ // авось (russian, n.) - blind trust in sheer luck

B balter (v.) - to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment basorexia (n.) - the overwhelming desire to kiss bilita mpash (bantu, n.) - the opposite of a nightmare; not merely a good dream, but a blissful state where all is forgiven and forgotten brontide (n.) - the low rumble of distant thunder brumous (adj.) - of grey skies and winter days; filled with heavy clouds or fog b’shirt // באשַערט (yiddish, n.) - “destiny”; referring to the seeking of a person who will complement you and whom you will complement perfectly

C cafuné (portuguese, n.) - the act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair caim (scottish, n.) - an invisible circle of protection, drawn around the body with the hand, that reminds you that you are safe and loved, even in the darkest times casuistry (n.) - deceptive or excessively subtle reasoning chéngquán // 成全 (chinese, v.) - “to become whole”; to selflessly help someone achieve their aim chimerical (adj.) - created by unchecked imagination; fantastically visionary or highly improbable commuovere (italian, v.) - to stir, to touch, to move to tears consenescere (latin, v.) - to grow old and grey together; to stay too long in an occupation; to decay, to lose respect, to fade convivencia (spanish, n.) - living together, in the sense of living or working closely with other people with whom you share feelings, desires, or a common purpose

D defenestrate (n.) - to throw someone or something out of a window dépaysement (n.) - the feeling that comes from not being in one’s home country   dérive (french, n.) - a spontaneous journey where the traveler leaves their life behind for a time to let the spirit of the landscape and architecture attract and move them desenrascanço (portuguese, n.) - the improvisation of haphazard but completely sound solutions or plans at the last minute   dormiveglia (italian, n.) - the space that stretches between sleeping and waking dustsceawung (n.) - reflection on people, and on the knowledge that all things will turn to dust

E eigengrau (german, n.) - “intrinsic grey”; the color seen by the eye in perfect darkness erlebnisse (german, n.) - the experiences, positive or negative, that we feel most deeply, and through which we truly live estivate (v.) - to be inactive or asleep through the summer’s heat and then come awake and alive in the winter eudaimonia (n.) - a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous

F fanaa // فناء (urdu, n.) - destruction of the self; “destroyed in love” fernweh (german, n.) - feeling homesick for a place you have never been to finifugal (adj.) - hating endings; of someone who tries to avoid or prolong the final moments of a story, relationship, or some other journey firgun // פירגון (hebrew, n.) - the act of sharing in or even contributing to someone else’s pleasure or fortune, with a purely generous heart and without jealousy fisselig (german, n.) - being flustered to the point of incompetence; a temporary state of inexactitude and sloppiness that is elicited by another person’s nagging fuubutsushi // 風物詩 (japanese, n.) - the feelings, scents, or images that evoke memories or anticipation of a particular season

G gezellig (dutch, adj.) - cozy, nice, inviting, pleasant, comfortable; connoting time spent with loved ones or togetherness after a long separation gibel // гибель (russian, n.) - not death, not suicide, but simply ceasing to exist; deteriorating in a way that is painful for others gibigianna (italian, n.) - the play of light reflected from water or a mirror; a sunlit area gigil (tagalog, v.) - to grit the teeth in order to resist the urge to pinch or squeeze something extremely cute gökotta (swedish, n.) - dawn picnic to hear the first birdsong; the act of rising in the early morning to watch the birds or to go outside to appreciate nature guanxi // 關係 (chinese, n.) - a network of social connections based on mutual trust and the balancing of debts by returning favors so that the relationship’s benefits are shared by all

H hanyauku (kwangali, n.) - the act of walking on tiptoes across warm sand hifistelyä (finnish, n.) - something sophisticated, luxurious, and expensive, which is however a very minor improvement and is not needed hiraeth (welsh, n.) - a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past honne // 本音 (japanese, n.) - what a person truly believes; the behavior and opinions which are often kept hidden and only displayed with one’s closest confidants hüzün (turkish, n.) - a melancholy resulting from inadequacy or failure and weighing so heavily that it becomes communal, resigned, and even curiously poetic

I ichariba chode // 行逢りば兄弟 (japanese, phr.) - “though we meet but once, even by chance, we are friends for life”   iktsuarpok (inuit, n.) - the frustration of waiting for someone to turn up ilunga (tshiluba, n.) - a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time incalescent (adj.) - growing hotter or more ardent; set ablaze induratize (v.) - to make one’s own heart hardened or resistant to someone’s pleas or advances, or to the idea of love

J jaaneman // जानेमन  // جان ِ من (persian, n.) - “soul of me”; gender-neutral word for sweetheart or darling jiāoqiǎnyánshēn // 交浅言深 (chinese, v.) - to have a deep and intimate conversation with a stranger jīlè // 雞肋 (chinese, n.) - things that you have no use for, yet still don’t want to throw away

K kairos καιρός (greek, n.) - the perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement kalopsia (n.) - the delusion of things being more beautiful than they really are kalsarikännit (finnish, v.) - to get drunk alone at home in your underwear karōshi // 過労死 (japanese, n.) - death from being overworked katzenjammer (german, n.) - a bad hangover or a general state of depression or bewilderment kawaakari // 川明かり (japanese, n.) - the gleam of last light on a river’s surface at dusk; the glow of a river in the darkness       kilig (tagalog, n.) - the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic takes place kintsukuroi // 金繕い (japanese, n.) - “to repair with gold”; the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken koyaanisqatsi (hopi, n.) - nature out of balance; a way of life so unbalanced that you need a new way kruschteln (german, v.) - to look for an item in a disorganized pile of stuff

L la douleur exquise (french, n.) - the heart-wrenching pain of wanting the affection of someone unattainable l’appel du vide (french, n.) - “the call of the void”; the instinctive urge to jump from high places latibule (n.) - a hiding place; a place of safety and comfort lethe (n.) - oblivion or something to make you enter oblivion and forget lítost (czech, n.) - regret and remorse and repentance; a state of agony and torment; sorrow said to be created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery livsnjutare (swedish, n.) - one who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme

M mamihlapinatapei (yagán, n.) - the wordless, meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to do so matutine (adj.) - just before the dawn mbuki-mvuki (bantu, v.) - to shed one’s clothing spontaneously and dance naked in joy meliorism (n.) - the belief that the world gets better; the belief that humans can improve the world mellandagarna (swedish, n.) - “the middle days”; the days between christmas and the new year meraki // μεράκι (greek, n.) - the soul, creativity, or love put into something; the essence of yourself that is put into your work metanoia (n.) - the journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self, or way of life mono no aware // 物の哀れ (japanese, n.) - the gentle wistfulness at the transience of things, and the awareness of the sadness of existence mudita // मुदित (sanskrit, n.) - sympathetic, vicarious joy; happiness rather than resentment at someone else’s well-being or good fortune mutterseelenallein (german, adj.) - utterly alone, as of refugees torn from their home country

N nakhes (yiddish, n.) - the satisfaction gained from life’s gifts; proud pleasure, especially in one’s children or grandchildren and their successes, however small ñáñaras (spanish, n.) - the free-falling sensation in the body caused by an unpleasant situation, fear, anxiety, insecurity, or other intense emotions   natsukashii // 懐かしい (japanese, adj.) - of some small thing that brings you suddenly and joyously back to fond memories, not with a wistful longing for what’s past, but with an appreciation of the good times nazlanmak (turkish, v.) - pretending reluctance or indifference when you are actually willing or eager; saying no and meaning yes nefelibata (spanish, n.) - “cloud-walker”; one who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not obey the conventions of society, literature, or art nemesism (greek, n.) - frustration, anger, or aggression directed inward, toward oneself and one’s way of living nemophilist (n.) - a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude nepenthe (n.) - something that can make you forget grief or suffering noceur (french, n.) - one who sleeps late or not at all; one who stays out late to revel or party noctuary (n.) - the record of a single night’s events, thoughts, or dreams novaturient (adj.) - desiring or seeking powerful change in one’s life, behavior, or situation numinous (adj.) - describing an experience that makes you fearful yet fascinated, awed yet attracted; the powerful, personal feeling of being overwhelmed and inspired

O offing (n.) - the deep, distant stretch of the ocean that is still visible from the land orenda (iroquoian, n.) - a mystical force present in all people that empowers them to affect the world, or to effect change in their own lives ostranenie // остранение (russian, n.) - encouraging people to see common things as strange, wild, or unfamiliar; defamiliarizing what is known in order to know it differently or more deeply oubliette (n.) - a dungeon with a door only in the ceiling; a place you put people to forget about them

P palinoia (n.) - the obsessive repetition of an act until it is perfect or mastered pareidolia (n.) - the instinct to seek familiar forms in disordered images like clouds or constellations; the perception of random stimuli as significant peripeteia // περιπέτεια (greek, n.) - a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances; the point of no return pretoogjes (dutch, n.) - the eyes of a chuckling person who is up to benign mischief

Q quaquaversal (adj.) - moving or happening in every direction instantaneously querencia (spanish, n.) - a place from which one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self

R ranço (portuguese, n.) - the inexplicable feeling of disliking someone without a proper reason   rantipole (v.) - to be wild and reckless rasasvada // रसास्वाद  (sanskrit, n.) - the taste of bliss in the absence of all thoughts recumbentibus (n.) - the knockout or ending blow, physical or verbal; the final, winning argument redamancy (n.) - the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full resfeber (swedish, n.) - the restless race of the traveler’s heart before the journey begins, when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together retrouvaille (french, n.) - the joy of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation; rediscovery

S sankofa (akan, n.) - “go back and fetch it”; to look back on the past in order to understand how we became what we are, and move forward to a better future     sarang // 사랑 (korean, n.) - “i wish to be with you until death”     saudade (portuguese, n.) - a nostalgic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant, or that has been loved and then lost sciamachy (n.) - a battle against imaginary enemies; fighting your shadow scintilla (n.) - a tiny, brilliant flash or spark; a small thing; a barely-visible trace sehnsucht (german, n.) - a yearning for a far, familiar, non-earthly land one can identify as one’s home serein (french, n.) - the fine, light rain that falls from a clear sky at sunset or in the early hours of night setsunai // 切ない (japanese, n) - the feeling between bittersweet, painful, and wistful sillage (french, n.) - the scent that lingers in air, the trail left in water, the impression made in space after something or someone has been and gone smultronställe (swedish, n.) - a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness   soigné (french, adj.) - possessing an aura of sophistication in dress, manner, or design; presented or prepared with an elegance attained through care for the finer details sophrosyne // σωφροσύνη (greek, n.) - a healthy state of mind, characterized by self-control, moderation, and a deep awareness of one’s true self, and resulting in true happiness sturmfrei (german, adj.) - the freedom of not being watched by a parent or superior; being alone at a place and having the ability to do what you want susurrus (n.) - a low, soft sound, as of whispering or muttering or a quiet wind súton (croatian, n.) - the approach of death or the end of something

T tacenda (n.) - things better left unsaid; matters to be passed over in silence tatemae // 建前 (japanese, n.) - what a person pretends to believe; the behavior and opinions one must display to satisfy society’s demandsv. temerate (v.) - to break a bond or binding promise toska // тоска (russian, n.) - ache of soul, longing with nothing to long for tsundoku // 積ん読 (japanese, n.) - buying books and not reading them; letting books pile up unread on shelves or floors or nightstands

U uitwaaien (dutch, v.) - to take a break to clear one’s head

V vagary (n.) - an unpredictable instance, a wandering journey; a whimsical, wild, or unusual idea, desire, or action velleitie (n.) - a wish or powerful desire for something that nonetheless is not or cannot be followed by actions meant to pursue it venters (scots, n.) - what the wind or tide drives in from the ocean upon a wave vernorexia (n.) - a romantic mood inspired by spring videnda (n.) - the things that should be seen or visited, especially if because they mark the character of a person or place volta // βόλτα (greek, n.) - a leisurely stroll along the main street or the seashore as the sun is setting, to meet and talk with friends and neighbors vorfreude (german, n.) - the joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures

W wabi-sabi // 侘寂 (japanese, n) - accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay wēijī // 危機  (chinese, n.) - crisis or critical moment; from risk 危 and opportunity 機, the idea that there can be a positive result in a wisely handled risk

X xibipíío (pirahã, adj.) - of experiential liminality; of a being in the boundaries of experience and the act of entering or leaving perception xuānxiè // 宣泄 (chinese, v.) - “to let accumulated water flow”; to emotionally unburden oneself

Y ya’aburnee // يقبرني (arabic, phr.) - “you bury me”; wishing for a loved one to outlive you because of how unbearable life would be without them yakamoz (turkish, n.) - the reflection of the moon as it shines upon the water

Z zugzwang (german, n.) - a situation where every possible move or decision is a bad one, or one that will result in damage or loss

Sensory Prompts

cold, smooth slate

smell of smoke in icy air

a shimmer of water droplets in the sun

mint leaves

cold mud

the squeak of an old wooden staircase

paper tearing

light on the bottom of a clear pool

radio static

wind chimes

light reflected on puddles

the green iridescence of a beetle’s wing

slipping into warm water

a glow stick being snapped

night wind carrying the scent of freshly baked bread

wet, rotting leaves

dice against a table

the taste left in your mouth after a dentist’s appointment

a bite of an apple

people talking a room away

walking barefoot on sidewalk

dark, bitter chocolate

dryer lint

plucking a peach off the tree

calloused palm

pine needles

aloe being slathered on a sunburn

eggshells cracking

a dog’s cold nose

porch light in the distance

pouring something into a glass

soft cat feet

scraping at a scab

a deer darting away under the trees

jumping into a cold pool

a paper cut

a too-rich dessert

putting on clean underwear

an unpleasantly damp handshake

sweaty socks

the soft fur behind a dog’s ears

crunching ice at the bottom of the glass

licking your fingers while eating Cheetos

fighting against the urge to cry

floating on your back in water

soreness after exercise

the smell of an elderly relative’s house

bowling alley carpet

fresh paint

fireworks close enough to feel in your chest

the radio playing in the background at a restaurant

watching aquarium fish

a toilet flushing in a public restroom

your breath coming out in clouds in the cold

putting accidentally way too much salt on your food

poking at a bruise

rain on a metal roof

scent of a damp basement

the weird green afterimage after coming in from the snow

getting scratched by briars

a popsicle stick against your tongue

opening a window

walking on gravel

cold pizza

blowing out a candle

a swallow of a carbonated drink

packing peanuts

a bleeding mosquito bite

trying to fall asleep in a too-warm room

loud laughter somewhere else in the neighborhood

a round rock in the palm of your hand

putting your hair in a tight ponytail

steam rising from a bowl of soup

gum with all the flavor chewed out of it

the feel of banana peel

heavy boots

latex gloves

cold coins

an earthworm squirming in your palm

someone pulling away from a hug you wish would last longer

cloudless summer sky

ripping up a tuft of grass

getting water in your eyes

clean sheets

the packaging of snack food you’re eating late at night

cold water down your neck

nasty-tasting medicine

cleaning dirt from under your nails

holding your breath underwater

flies buzzing

thick fog

aluminum foil

the smell of stagnant water

the light of a full moon

bending a green twig in your hands

another person touching your skin with cold hands

motion sickness

tufts of shed fur

hard candy dissolving in your mouth

a feeling of acceleration in your chest

Enjoy! Ask away!

If you want a certain character, don’t be afraid to ask, and if you don’t know what character could fit, but you want to see it anyhow, I’ll use a character I think might fit for you. 😊