#technical skills assessment

[professorlegaspi]

In my special self-indulgent headcanon version of speech gifts, telepathy is a mind gift, but the equivalently difficult Speech gift is speaking in concepts

[techtalksonthego]

React Developer Technical Assessment Test for Hiring: Best Practices

In the competitive world of web development, hiring the right React developer can be a game-changer for your projects. ReactJS, with its component-based architecture and virtual DOM, has become one of the most popular libraries for building modern web applications. To ensure you find the best fit for your team, conducting a well-structured react technical test is essential. In this article, we will explore the best practices for designing a React Developer Technical Assessment Test that effectively evaluates a candidate's React skills, problem-solving abilities, and coding proficiency. By following these practices, you can identify top-notch React developers who will contribute to the success of your projects.

Where to Find Qualified React JS Developers?

Online Job Boards and Platforms: Start your search by posting job listings on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Stack Overflow, and Indeed. These platforms have a vast pool of qualified ReactJS developers actively seeking opportunities.

Freelance Platforms: If you require freelance or contract ReactJS developers, platforms like Upwork, Toptal, and Freelancer offer a wide range of skilled freelancers.

Dedicated Developer Platforms: Consider using platforms like Hired, Gigster, or Gun.io, which specifically connect businesses with top-tier developers after a rigorous vetting process.

Tech Meetups and Hackathons: Offline events like tech meetups and hackathons can be great opportunities to network and connect with passionate and proactive ReactJS developers in your local community.

How to Hire a ReactJS Developer?

Determine Your Project Requirements: Clearly define your project's scope, technology stack, and specific ReactJS skills required to find the right fit for your project.

Conduct a React Assessment Test: Use a well-designed React assessment test to evaluate candidates' technical prowess, problem-solving abilities, and practical application skills. Include scenarios relevant to your project to assess real-world capabilities.

Conduct a Technical Interview: Follow up the assessment test with a technical interview to delve deeper into candidates' problem-solving approach, communication skills, and project experiences.

Review Past Projects and Experience: Examine candidates' portfolios and past projects to assess their coding quality, problem-solving capabilities, and domain expertise.

Finalize the Contract: After shortlisting promising candidates, finalize the contract with clearly defined terms, project scope, and compensation details.

Top ReactJS Interview Questions

Basic Understanding and Knowledge Questions:

What is JSX, and how is it different from standard JavaScript?

Explain the differences between functional and class components in React.

Elaborate on the purpose and advantages of React Hooks.

Practical Application and Problem-Solving Questions:

Develop a React component that fetches and displays data from an API.

Describe your approach to managing state in a complex React application.

Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using Redux for state management.

Questions Specific to Your Project:

How would you implement [specific feature relevant to your project] using React?

Have you worked with [specific technology or library used in your project] in your past projects?

React Assessment Test-Based Discussion

Defining the Test Objectives:

Clearly outline the objectives of the React assessment test and the specific skills you aim to evaluate.

Aligning Test Objectives with Job Requirements:

Ensure that the test questions align closely with the ReactJS role's necessary skills.

Assessing Problem-Solving Skills and Knowledge:

Include coding challenges and real-world scenarios to assess candidates' ability to handle practical problems.

Emphasizing Practical Coding Tasks:

Prioritize hands-on coding tasks to evaluate candidates' practical skills.

Designing the Test

Choosing Problems and Setting Time Limits:

Select problems that challenge candidates within a reasonable time frame.

Balancing Theoretical Questions and Practical Coding Tasks:

Achieve a balance between theoretical questions and coding challenges to assess both knowledge and application.

Including Real-World Problems:

Integrate real-world scenarios to evaluate candidates' approach to authentic challenges.

Test Content

Focus on Core Concepts:

Assess candidates' understanding of fundamental ReactJS concepts, such as JSX, components, and props.

Incorporate Real-World Scenarios:

Present problems that reflect real-life challenges faced by developers.

Assess Coding Skills:

Include coding exercises to test a candidate's ability to write clean, efficient, and maintainable code.

Implement Time Constraints:

Set appropriate time limits to evaluate candidates' time management skills.

Include Domain-Specific Challenges:

Incorporate relevant challenges to assess candidates' domain-specific knowledge, if applicable.

Managing the Process

Choose the Right Platform:

Select a suitable platform or testing environment to administer the React assessment test.

Set a Regular Review for Biased or Discriminatory Questions:

Ensure the test questions are unbiased and free from discriminatory elements.

Pilot Testing:

Conduct a pilot test with your team to identify and rectify any issues with the test before candidate evaluations.

Conducting the Test

Providing Clear Instructions:

Furnish candidates with clear instructions for taking the React assessment test, including time limits and specific requirements.

Ensuring a Fair and Consistent Testing Environment:

Guarantee that all candidates have an equal opportunity to take the test under fair conditions.

Monitoring the Test:

Monitor the assessment process to address any technical issues that may arise promptly.

Evaluating the Test

Grading Rubric:

Create a grading rubric to evaluate candidates consistently and fairly.

Assessing Clean and Efficient Code:

Evaluate candidates based on their ability to produce clean, well-organized, and efficient code.

Understanding of React Principles:

Gauge candidates' understanding of React principles and best practices.

Problem-Solving Skills:

Assess candidates' problem-solving skills based on their approach to and resolution of given challenges.

Providing Constructive Feedback:

Offer constructive feedback to candidates, regardless of the outcome, to assist them in improving their skills.

Conclusion

Designing an effective Technical Assessment Build with React is crucial for making informed hiring decisions and building a skilled development team. By aligning the test objectives with job requirements, including practical coding tasks and real-world scenarios, and providing constructive feedback to candidates, you can ensure a fair and thorough evaluation process. Remember that an ideal React developer should not only possess strong React skills but also demonstrate problem-solving abilities, clean coding practices, and a deep understanding of React principles. Implementing these best practices will help you attract and hire talented React developers who will drive innovation and excellence in your web development endeavors

.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Nonplussed

Means “perplexed.”

But there is a further point of confusion that can send someone to the dictionary: since the mid-20th century, nonplussed has been increasingly used to mean “unimpressed” or “unsurprised,” and this use, though often considered an error, has made the confident deployment of this word a fraught issue for many.

Anodyne

Sometimes words sort of seem to telegraph their meaning: pernicious sounds like a bad thing rather than a good thing, and beatific sounds like something to be desired as opposed to something to be avoided.

This is all fairly subjective, of course, but the sounds of words can have an effect on how we perceive them.

Anodyne doesn’t give us many clues in that way. It turns out that anodyne is a good thing: it means “serving to alleviate pain” or “innocuous,” from the Greek word with similar meanings.

Supercilious

Used to describe people who are arrogant and haughty or give off a superior attitude.

It comes from the Latin word meaning “eyebrow,” and was used in Latin to refer to the expression of arrogant people, and this meaning was transferred to English.

Amusingly, the word supercilious was added to some dictionaries in the 1600s—a time when many Latin words were translated literally into English—with the meanings “pertaining to the eyebrows” or “having great eyebrows.”

Stochastic

In scientific and technical uses, it usually means “involving probability” or “determined by probability,” and is frequently paired with words like demand, model, processing, and volatility.

Comes from the Greek word meaning “skillful at aiming,” which had become a metaphor for “guessing.”

It’s a term that had long been used by mathematicians and statisticians, and has come into more public discourse with stochastic terrorism, the notion that accusations or condemnations of a person or group can lead to violence against that person or group. This allows those who make the initial accusations to seem innocent from any specific violent act, but stochastic terrorism is a way to identify the motives for such an attack as being set in motion by the words of another person.

Anathema

Means “something or someone that is strongly disliked”.

Initially used to refer to a person who had been excommunicated from the Catholic church.

Came from Greek through Latin into English with the meaning of “curse” or “thing devoted to evil,” but today refers to anything that is disapproved of or to be avoided.

There is a strangeness about the way this word is used in a sentence. Because anathema is usually used without an or the, as in “raincoats are anathema to high fashion” or “those ideas are anathema in this class” it may seem just odd enough to send people to the dictionary when they encounter it.

Bemused

So close in sound to amused that they have blended together in usage, but they started as very different ideas: bemused originally meant “confused” or “bewildered,” a meaning stemming from the idea of musing or thinking carefully about something, which may be required in order to assess what isn’t easy to understand.

Many people insist that “confused” is still the only correct way to use bemused, but the joining of meanings with amused has resulted in the frequent use of this word to mean “showing wry or tolerant amusement,” a shade of meaning created from the combination.

Words with meanings that seem to crisscross or intersect are sure to send us to the dictionary.

Solipsistic

Means “extremely egocentric” or “self-referential.”

Comes from the Latin roots solus ("alone," the root of sole) and ipse ("self").

As this Latinate fanciness implies, this is a word used in philosophical treatises and debates.

The egocentrism of solipsism has to do with the knowledge of the self, or more particularly the theory in philosophy that your own existence is the only thing that is real or that can be known.

Calling an idea or a person solipsistic can be an insult that identifies a very limited and usually self-serving perspective, or it can be a way to isolate one’s perspective in a useful way.

It’s a word with an abstract meaning, which is a good reason to check that meaning from time to time.

Tautology

A needless or meaningless repetition of words or ideas.

It’s a word about words that can be used in academic writing or as a hifalutin way of saying “redundancy,” as in “a beginner who just started learning.”

Since we value both clarity and originality, especially in writing, tautology is a word that usually carries a negative connotation and is used as a way to criticize a poorly formed sentence or a poorly argued position.

Perspicacious

The ability to see clearly is a powerful metaphor for being able to understand something.

Being perspicacious means having an ability to notice and understand things that are difficult or not obvious, and it comes from the Latin verb meaning “to see through.”

Means “perceptive,” and is often used along with words that have positive connotations like witty, clever, wise, alert, and insightful (another word that uses seeing as a metaphor for understanding).

Peripatetic

Means “going from place to place,” and comes from the Greek word that means “to walk.”

You can say someone who moves frequently has a “peripatetic existence,” or someone who has changed careers several times has had a “peripatetic professional trajectory.”

The root word “to walk” is usually more of a metaphor in the modern use of this word—it means frequent changes of place, yes, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are wearing out your shoes.

The original use of this word did use “walking” as a more literal image, however: it was a description of the way that the philosopher Aristotle preferred to give lectures to his students while walking back and forth, and the word has subsequently taken on a more metaphorical meaning.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Basics ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[xiaq]

I work in technical sales.

Last week, one of our execs used ChatGPT to create a business value assessment for a prospect (basically, why should this prospective customer choose our tech for their business needs). The data was good—but the language was impersonal, mechanical, and didn’t include the kind of terminology that would resonate with these business folks. The exec’s boss noted these concerns while we were reviewing our two part preso+demo plan (I’m the demo-er) and said “hey, Erica is a writer, get her to look it over and get it adjusted to be more relatable.”

It was quick work for us to retool the language. The director was pleased with the new version, and the presentation was incredibly well-received by the customer. They even asked to get a copy of the BVA to share internally. We’re now in contract negotiations with that prospect.

Our director spent ten minutes reviewing that document on our team meeting this afternoon emphasizing the importance of writing and editing skills and warning the team not to rely entirely on AI because it doesn’t understand customers the same way a human can.

Writing skills are important. Editing skills are important. If you are young, please hear me when I tell you that putting in the work to develop solid communication skills will benefit you in nearly ANY career path.

[prokopetz]

As a technical writer I'm usually not prone to falling into the trap of that xkcd comic about the geologists who think your average person knows the chemical formula for quartz, being as "accurately assessing the probable prior knowledge of a given audience about a given topic" is literally one of my professional skills – but then I start talking about what I consider to be extremely entry-level tabletop RPG stuff and I'm met with shocked exclamations of "wait, back up – there are RPGs where you can play as BUGS???".

[hayatheauthor]

Have u done a post on anatomy of swordfight? Or like weapons in general. I have a lot of different weapons planned out: bow, different types of swords, daggers, shields, spears, etc. I can't find a single proper guide explaining how to write fight scenes for these that make sense.

The Anatomy of Writing a Sword Fight

Thank you for the ask! I really love your ideas/reqs and will be making at least 2 more blogs as a reply to this ask (that will cover bows etc). For now I've gone with swordfights.

This guide dives into the technical aspects of sword fighting—from the types of swords and injuries to the medical realities of treating these wounds.

My long-form posts are usually filled with long detailed paras but this time I wanted to focus more on the 'facts' and had a lot of things to cover so I stuck to concise pointers for each area. That being said, feel free to ask follow-up questions if needed!

Understanding the Blades

Firstly, here's a quick breakdown on the types of swords and their impact on injuries

Longswords Longswords are double-edged, straight blades often used with two hands. They cause deep slashes capable of severing muscles and tendons, and thrusts that can puncture organs or arteries. Heavy blows can also break bones.

Rapiers Rapiers are thin, pointed blades designed for thrusting. They cause precise punctures targeting vital organs or arteries. Less effective for slashing but deadly in skilled hands.

Katanas Katanas are curved, single-edged blades optimized for slicing. Their shape allows for those gory slashes that can amputate limbs or expose bones. Thrusts can also be fatal.

Sabers A saber is a curved blade with one sharp edge, typically used on horseback. These blades are designed for slashing, often causing wide, shallow wounds.

Short Swords and Daggers Smaller blades that are used for close combat can sometimes fall under the sword umbrella based on their shape and length. A Jambiya for example is categorised as a 'short sword'. These work for deep puncture wounds in tight quarters. Can sever arteries or puncture the heart or lungs.

In short, the design influences the wounds. Remember: 

Straight blades are versatile, causing both slashes and thrusts.

Curved blades focus on slicing, leaving gaping wounds.

Thin blades like rapiers target precision strikes to critical areas.

Types of Sword Injuries

As mentioned above I'm trying to cut to the chase with this blog so for each injury type, I've covered what I think are the key points. These are the appearance, severity, blood loss caused by this type of wound, and pain levels. I think these four basically cover everything a writer needs to know when picking their poison. 

Slash Wounds

Appearance: Long, open cuts with jagged or clean edges depending on the blade.

Severity: Superficial slashes may damage only the skin and fat layers, but deeper cuts sever muscles, tendons, and even arteries.

Blood Loss: Significant, especially if major arteries like the femoral (thigh) or brachial (arm) are cut.

Pain: Immediate burning or stinging, with sharp increases if nerves are involved.

Thrust Wounds

Appearance: Small entry wounds but potentially deep and catastrophic internal damage.

Severity: Can puncture vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, or intestines.

Blood Loss: Often internal, leading to hidden dangers like haemorrhaging or collapsed lungs.

Pain: Stabbing pains that radiate outward, especially if organs are pierced.

Blunt Force Injuries

Appearance: Bruising, swelling, or fractures from strikes with the flat side or hilt.

Severity: Can lead to broken bones, ruptured vessels, or concussions.

Blood Loss: Minimal unless skin is broken.

Pain: Deep aches or sharp, localized pain from fractures.

Assessing the Severity of Wounds

When assessing the severity of a wound, there are a few important things to keep in mind. To make it easier, I've put together a quick checklist to help you out.

Location: Wounds to the head, neck, or chest are often life-threatening. Injuries to limbs are less fatal but can lead to significant blood loss.

Depth: Shallow cuts are often cosmetic but painful. Deep wounds risk severing arteries, damaging organs, or causing fractures.

Angle: Oblique cuts may glance off bones or armor. Direct thrusts to unprotected areas are far more dangerous.

What Happens When Each Area is Wounded

It's kind of a given that each area of the body is different and would thus cause different reactions when pierced. While many writers stick to the 'blood dripping from the mouth, hand desperately clutching the wound' look, I think it's a good idea to consider the medicinal side of your injuries.

Are there arteries in this area? Vital organs? Muscle and tissue? Here's a quick breakdown of those questions (no I haven’t mentioned every area or organ of the body):  

Limbs

Forearms and Upper Arms: Severing the brachial artery results in rapid blood loss. Cuts to tendons disable grip strength or arm movement.

Thighs: The femoral artery is a critical target. Damage here leads to exsanguination within minutes if untreated.

Calves and Feet: While less life-threatening, injuries here severely limit mobility and can cause nerve damage leading to paralysis.

Abdomen

Liver: Heavy bleeding due to its vascularity. Potentially fatal without intervention.

Stomach: Leakage of acidic contents causes severe internal infections.

Intestines: Punctures lead to sepsis from spilled waste material.

Kidneys: Severe back pain and rapid blood loss from renal artery damage.

Chest

Lungs: Punctures cause pneumothorax (collapsed lung), leading to difficulty breathing and chest pain.

Heart: Even small cuts are often fatal due to rapid blood loss and cardiac tamponade (fluid pressure around the heart).

Ribs: Fractures can puncture lungs or other organs.

Neck

Jugular Vein or Carotid Artery: Severing either leads to death in under two minutes from blood loss.

Trachea: Obstruction causes immediate respiratory distress.

Spinal Cord: Severance leads to paralysis or death.

Back

Spinal Cord: Injuries vary from numbness to total paralysis depending on the location.

Kidneys: Vulnerable to back stabs; severe bleeding and pain radiating to the abdomen.

Face/Head

Cheeks: Slashes leave disfiguring scars but are rarely fatal.

Eyes: Punctures result in blindness and intense pain.

Skull: Blunt force may cause concussions or fractures; penetrating wounds can be fatal if they reach the brain.

Treating Sword Fight Injuries

In the chaos of a sword fight, providing immediate care can mean the difference between life and death. The first priority is to stop the bleeding. For deep cuts or arterial wounds, use a clean cloth or pressure bandage to compress the injury. If the bleeding doesn’t subside, especially in limb injuries, apply a tourniquet above the wound, ensuring it’s tight enough to restrict blood flow without causing further damage. 

Once bleeding is controlled, stabilize the victim. Immobilize fractures with makeshift splints, and in cases of suspected spinal injuries, avoid moving the victim unnecessarily to prevent exacerbating the damage. Finally, cleaning the wound is critical to minimize infection risks. Remove debris carefully and irrigate the wound with clean water if possible. Though battlefield medicine is rudimentary, these steps provide a fighting chance for survival.

Also, one thing people forget to go over is temperature. Keeping the victim warm is essential, as blood loss can lead to hypovolemic shock, which compromises the body’s ability to circulate oxygen. 

Historical vs. Modern Treatment

The approach to sword fight injuries varies dramatically between historical and modern contexts. While I can’t completely break down the differences, here’s (what I hope) is a quick overview that will aid in your research. 

Historically, treating wounds was rudimentary at best. Herbal poultices were applied to reduce inflammation, and cauterization—burning the wound to seal it—was a common but agonizing method to prevent bleeding and infection. Stitching techniques were crude, and the lack of sterilization meant infections like sepsis or gangrene were often fatal. 

Fret not, modern medicine offers a more hopeful prognosis. Sterile wound care, antibiotics, and surgical interventions allow for precise repairs to severed arteries, muscles, or organs. Advanced imaging technology can assess internal injuries, while blood transfusions and IV fluids combat shock effectively. 

This just underscores how important it is for writers to consider what timeline their story is set in. Sorry but your medieval prince won’t just have a full recovery after suffering a brutal gash, especially not if his only source of medicine was love interest’s xyz solution. Infections are a very real issue. In fact, most deaths during that time were due to infection. Do your research.

The Psychological Aftermath

The aftermath of surviving a sword fight extends far beyond physical wounds, leaving lasting emotional and psychological scars. Many survivors experience trauma or PTSD, manifesting as flashbacks to the battle, vivid nightmares, or an overwhelming sense of anxiety, especially in situations that trigger memories of the fight. I would absolutely love to see people incorporate this in their writing! If your modern OCs can get flashbacks and nightmares after a single gun altercation what makes you think the medieval ones won’t experience something similar? 

Survivor’s guilt is another common burden, particularly if the character witnessed comrades die or was forced to make life-and-death decisions during combat. These emotional struggles can deeply shape their personality, making them more cautious, resentful, or even vengeful. Villain arc here we come! 

One thing to remember; physical limitations compound the psychological toll. Permanent injuries like chronic pain, reduced mobility, or disfigurement can remind a character daily of their ordeal, influencing how they interact with others and navigate the world.

As a writer it’s important to take recovery into account. Exploring these aspects adds depth to the character’s recovery arc, making their journey more relatable and human. 

Remember folks; a sword fight isn’t just a moment of action—it’s a fight as brutal and dangerous as any knife or gun altercation you can think of (if not worse). 

Crafting the Fight Scene

To end this blog, here are my (and various Google articles’) two cents on what you should be focusing on/keeping in mind during a swordfight. 

Writing a compelling sword fight requires balancing technical accuracy with emotional resonance. Pacing is key: alternate between rapid exchanges of blows and brief pauses to allow tension to build. These pauses provide an opportunity to describe a character’s thoughts, pain, or strategic planning. 

Sensory details bring the scene to life—capture the sharp clash of steel, the metallic tang of blood in the air, the searing pain of a wound, and the slickness of a sweat-soaked grip on a sword hilt.

Focus on the characters themselves to make the scene more engaging. Highlight their emotions, such as fear, determination, or desperation, alongside the physical toll of the fight. Show how fatigue sets in, how their breathing becomes labored, and how every swing of the blade drains their strength. 

Injuries should be portrayed realistically; instead of dismissing wounds as minor setbacks, use them to heighten tension. A cut to the leg might slow a character’s movements, while a stab to the shoulder could make wielding their weapon excruciating. 

Balancing these elements ensures your fight scenes are not only thrilling but also grounded in a visceral reality.

Resources for Writers

Books:

"The Book of the Sword" by Richard Francis Burton

"Medieval Swordsmanship" by John Clements

Videos:

YouTube channels like "Skallagrim" and "Scholagladiatoria" for sword reviews and techniques.They’re very helpful for all sorts of weapons actually so OP I think you should consider stalking their channels you’d find a TON of info (I get most of mine from them lol). 

Articles:

I don’t have any precise ones but to boost your research consider medical journals on trauma and wound care. Oh and historical accounts of duels and battles.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

not me doomposting about l*ona again

I pointed out in an older post that Leona seems to demonstrate a unique ability to unite others under a common cause. This is in spite of the lore stating that it's very difficult to get different kinds of beastmen to see eye-to-eye, so much so that Sunset Savanna's acting king, his older brother, has yet to really unify their people.

WELL.

***Spoilers for Leona's Nightmare Suit vignettes below the cut!***

A central theme to Leona's Nightmare Suit vignettes is figuring out what makes someone worthy of being "king". At the start, everyone is reminded of Jack Skellington's status as the "King of Halloween, which makes him the most important person in town. However, Leona's quick to point out that the title isn't what's important, but what one achieves is. He then expresses interest in what it is exactly that Jack Skellington does around here to earn his crown. His opinion of Jack isn’t that good; in the event story, Leona thinks Jack doesn’t pay attention and doubts that he can have deep thoughts. Jack describes his duties as making Halloween the scariest it can possibly be. He drives around in his buggy, walks his dog Zero through the local cemetery, studies and conducts experiments, and reviews the proposals from Halloween Town residents. An important part of his job is considering his people's ideas! But Leona thinks there could be a more efficient way to do this rather than having the king read the proposals one by one. We can see a divide between their ways of thinking; Jack is willing to hear individuals out whereas Leona is focused on efficiency. This is also reflected in how they assign tasks later in the vignettes. Jack has everyone going up one ladder to decorate, while Leona commands the witches to do this task, as its much faster for them to do on their brooms. I don't know if this was intentional, but the way Jack rules feels reminiscent to how Leona often describes his older brother, Farena/Falena. So often does Leona mention that Falena is too kind and cares too much for others, which impedes on the political and economic gains he could be making if he were just more focused on his goals. “[Falena] could just focus on the kingdom’s affairs–you know, his JOB–but nooo, he’s gotta be the caring big brother who’s nice to everybody." (If you want to read a more in-depth analysis of Falena vs Leona's priorities when it comes to ruling, please read this post.)

Leona claims that the qualifications for king around here are actually really simple--and yeah, maybe there's nothing more to his line than this, but considering that in his home country one's order of birth is also a strong determinant, a merit-based system like what's seen in Halloween Town probably is simpler to him. And that means it's his time to shine and be acknowledged when he wasn't successful at earning this recognition back home.

Now, what REALLY surprised me in these vignettes wasn't that Leona knows how to boss around his peers and put their strengths to use (for example, he tells Vil, who has an eye for detail, to look over the embroidery, and Idia, who is a science and math whiz, to handle difficult calculations). It's that Leona is also perfectly aware of the abilities of the Halloween Town residents--people he has only known for less than three days--and uses them and their skills well too. That's an insanely short amount of time to get to know an entire TOWN'S worth of people and what each of them are like... yet he just pulls it off effortlessly????? HUH... This earns him the praise of Dr. Finkelstein, the mayor, Jack, Sally, and Skully. Sally in particular highlights Leona's strengths very concisely, stating that he can accurately assess the situation and give appropriate directions on how to act in that situation. Skully adds that Leona technically doesn't move himself or do any of the dirty work, he's focused solely on giving orders. This makes him a "king" and a leader of equal standing as Jack Skellington. And then Skully--SKULLY, THE OBSESSED HALLOWEEN OTAKU THAT THINKS HALLOWEEN SHOULD BE A VERY SPECIFIC WAY--says that Halloween was made possible by not one, but two great kings this year. It just goes to show how much one can truly accomplish when not barred by a negative environment and a lack of social support.

One definition of "king" that is offered in these vignettes is "the one who can bring everyone together". That's certainly something that both Leona and Jack do, albeit in very different ways. But then, at the end of the Halloween Town segment of the vignettes, Leona acknowledges that "king" can be defined another way. He realizes that Jack is recognized as king not just because he's a leader, but because he's also needed and loved by the townspeople. This, too, is a "king". However, it seems that this is a definition that Leona somewhat looks down upon, as he basically apologizes to Jack for not thinking highly of him at first. Again, Leona prioritizes getting shit done, no matter what the cost of it may be--and even if it earns him the ire of others. This, as I said earlier, puts him in stark contrast to Jack, as well as his own older brother. But here and now, we have Leona finally seeing the strength that a different kind of ruling can have instead of always speaking so disparagingly about it. Even if it's just a little... it feels like he's growing and learning, doesn't it?

The vignettes end on flashing forward to Leona back at Savanaclaw dorm. A few of his freshmen students are goofing off right before magift/spelldrive practice is about to start. As soon as Leona shows up, the freshmen snap to attention and rush off to change for practice. Jack (Howl, not Skellington, lol) remarks that usually the other first years are so lazy, but their attitudes completely changed when their dorm leader appeared. Ruggie chimes in, saying that Leona keeps the entire dorm in line... THJBAEBVUFAEIYAFIOYBVADFILH ThEN HE CALLS THEIR KING THE BEST... AND JACK AGTREESS... WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHUT THE FUCK UPAS ALREADY STOP POGINTONG OUT HE'S A AGOODFK leADER DFOR YOUE AEPEOPLE YADFJKHAFLIYVDGVYUADGVUEGAVN

In response to the praise, Leona says that simply scolding misbehaving students doesn't make you a king. If it were as simple as that, it would be a pretty cheap throne build only on flattery. The vignettes end with him telling everyone to move their asses to practice. lh WDBHFAIYOEAIYEIYF BUT TAHAT'S PRETY YMASSIVE FOR HS CHARACTER... These vignettes demonstrate that Leona's not fixated on the title of king, but what it means to truly "be" a king and leader. He doesn't value being called a "king" if he feels it's easily earned, he wants to prove himself worthy of it and earn that title through his talents. This all circles back to a thought I had a while ago: that what Leona is after isn't the literal seat of king, but all the things that come with it but was denied of in his childhood. Respect, admiration, recognition for his abilities.

And 💦 Leona doesn’t realize it yet (either that, or he’s in complete denial) but… He also fits that second definition of “king” 😭 He’s the type of person that gets things done (like what he believes should define a king) BUT GIS DORM MEMBERS ALL ALSO NEED AND LOVE HIM…

OOoogohoggoOGH... OTL I hate how well it comes together...

[sparrows4bats]

Damian as Selinas Sidekick AU

This can go one of two ways. Either Damian gets left with Selina instead of Bruce by Talia for some reason and is a little shit. There's a few fics about this, and I love them.

But maybe funnier and more interesting is that Damian becomes Silenas apprentice out of rebellion and spite.

So in those first few weeks after he arrives, where Bruce avoids him, and the other batfam members treat him like a ticking time bomb. Damian, who is ten, traumatised and fresh from a cult, is left alone in a strange country. He only has Alfred the butler and his new kitten to keep him company.

So, in his loneliness, his talks to his kitten about how he is feeling and all the things he learns about this weird new city and people. The kitten sits on his chest and purrs while he wonders why his father doesn't love him when he's supposed to be the perfect blood son.

It's during one of these conversations that he meets Silena Kyle. She just snuck into the Manor to see Bruce about a case when she comes across a little boy who sounds like he should be crying but doesn't let the tears fall, pouring his heart out to a sleeping kitten. Silena decides she is going to steal this precious boy from Bruce until he learns to treasure him properly.

Damian, understandably, attacks her, but is hindered by the fact he won't risk Alfred the Kittens' safety around a stranger, so Silena manages to pin him after a long struggle.

The boy hisses threats and demands to know why she's here in his fathers house. When she lets him up, he asks whether his mother sent her.

Silena stays quiet and assesses the kitten he keeps bundled up carefully and protectively. When Damian notices what she is looking at, he tells her that her fight is with him and only scum harm the defenceless.

Silena smiles and agrees. She uses what she has overheard and makes Damian an offer she hopes he won't refuse. Come with her, and she will let him go wherever he likes and she will train him properly. Damian, who is reluctantly impressed by her skill and so isolated, agrees after she lets him bring the kitten. He figures that Bruce will come for him eventually, so what's that harm in getting a small reprieve from the Manor in a way he won't be blamed? (This is technically a kidnapping. Father can't berate him for that.)

Silena helps Damian pack his belongings. He has very little in Gotham enough to fill one bag, and she takes note of his sketch book and other art supplies. After she explains that she is the world's greatest thief, he asks her to liberate his swords from where Bruce has locked them away. She does so gladly while he tells Alfred the plan.

Alfred promises not to say anything unless Bruce asks. He smiles at Silena when she comes in with Damians swords and sends them on their way. (Bruce goes on his mission without asking Alfred where Damian is, not because he doesn't care, but because he is not used to having to anymore. Damian isn't Robin, so how much trouble can he be getting into without Bruce knowing?)

Damian settles in with Silena quickly and begins to train with her, getting good at using a whip and practising his swordsmanship. Silena compliments his technique but makes him rest after every session. Eventually, Damian starts honing skills in infiltration and social exploitation. He learns to assess people without as much trauma clouding his judgement. He gets so good at it that interacting with strangers feels less like a minefield and more like an opportunity to learn. Silena praises his patience and progress.

He loves Silenas' never-ending parade of Strays, and after a few weeks (Bruce is still away), he doesn't want to leave. Silena is patient and kind in the face of his insults and listens when he tells her that at Nanda Parat, things worked differently. If she can, she alters her language and home to suit him better and explains those differences to him without making him feel like a monster or an idiot. The first time he makes a mistake and expects punishment, he shouts at her. He makes himself look larger and stares her down like an abused cat expecting to be hurt, and Silena, she understands. So she sits with him, and they talk about what he considers fair rules and boundaries, and they negotiate relevant and just consequences.

He opens up to her about how he misses his mother but doesn't want to be an assassin anymore, how he never chooses to be violent without cause but still does not understand his fathers refusal to kill. Silena hugs him gently, and he just melts. The cats join their cuddle pile.

He goes outside and finds restaurants that serve dishes from his home and buys clothes that keep him warm and dry in Gothams permanent overcast weather. He goes to school and gets the teachers to give him advanced work while he interacts with people his age for the first time. He decides that he wants to be a doctor like Talia and Ras and provide health care for the people of Gotham who are not as lucky as him and Silena.

Silena brings him on jobs after he asks to join and agrees to her rules. They are gone with jewellery long before they need to be, and Damian finds it fun? Like an adventure, no one gets hurt, but he still scratches that itch to challenge himself and grow more competent. He starts to have real fun!

After a few jobs, and a camera catches a photo of him, he decides his name will be Stray. Silena helps him design his cat themed costume.

When Bruce gets back from space or wherever he is, he is stressed to find his son missing, and no one knows where he is!!

He searches everywhere before Alfred has enough of seeing him brood and gives him the lecture of a lifetime. It has been over two months, and Bruce only noticed now?! Only after hours of berating and forcing Bruce to make several therapy appointments does Alfred tell him where Damian is and what he has been doing. He's both relieved to see Damian alive and with someone he trusts but also jealous of the fact he looks so happy in his little cat hood and goggles

Bruce is prepared to plead and grovel for Damian to come back. But Silena denys him. Damian doesn't want to leave, so he won't. The rest of batfamily receive their own lectures and start trying to meet Stray during his robberies, where he easily escapes capture (or attempts at apologies for how they treated him).

It's not until Tim hunts him down that he has a proper conversation with any of them. Damian apologizes to Tim for hurting him and explains how what the League taught him about his family and how he knows now that it was wrong and cruel. He tells Tim how he is trying to find his own path, with Catwoman to guide him. He may not be a bat, but he is also no longer an assassin. Tim is confused, feeling a little guilty, but touched as he stares at this small child with cat ears on his hood and paw pads on his gloves.

Tim knows what neglect feels like and is horrified that he let it happen to another kid, even one that tried to kill him. Tim accepts the apology and, on the advice of Alfred Pennyworth, asks to visit him soon. Damian allows it as long as he teaches him how he tracked Damian down in the first place.

Tim and Damian become friends in no time, with Dick joining them later, after he convinces Tim to help get Damian to trust him so he can say sorry for not trying harder to get to know him.

Silena still will not return her kitten no matter how much Bruce begs. He eventually argues for visitation roghts and makes up with both Silena and Damian. A lot of bribery is involved, and large donations are made to all Gotham no kill shelters.

When he and Silena start dating again, Damian holds him at sword point and delivers a horrifying shovel talk. Bruce pouts about his own son telling him he will never deserve the gift that is Silena Kyle, so he better work every damn day of his life if he stands a chance in keeping her. When he proposes Damian battles Harley and Ivy for the right to be her best man. Years later, Catwoman and Stray are common members of the Batfamily.

Talia accepts Silena in time after she sees how at peace her baby is. They have tea every few months and swap stories about their favourite men. Damian grows up so pretty with both his moms, influcing his looks and style. He is a beauty, and it makes him even more dangerous.

The Justice League meets Damian after Tim calls him in on a mission that requires infiltration and recovery of highly delicate materials. Stray gets the job done in a few hours and strides into the hall of justice and the Watchtower with a grace only a cat possesses. He waves at Tim and Dick. Bruce thanks him for a job well done, and even after all these years, Damian preens under his praise. He gives his report and the stolen material over and charms everyone before disappearing back into the shadows in front of everyone. How?? Only Cass can do that? Right? (Damian insisted on training with his family for them to earn his forgiveness, and now his siblings know that if they need a favour, they muster offer a skill.)

The younger members of the League develop a collective crush on Stray, much to the horror of his family.

Jon Kent meets Dr Damian Kyle-Wayne a week later when he brings a teammate to the hospital and recognises his hypnotic heartbeat and pretty green eyes.

Jon then does his level best to court the cat themed anti hero without being found out by his overprotective family. Jon is a simp for this man, and it's not long before Damian returns his intensity.

He showers Jon with gifts and flirts shamelessly. Jons' poor Midwestern heart can only take so much. Jon teases him back, of course, but is a lot more physical. He hugs Damian and runs his hands over his cheek before kissing him. Both delight in trying to get each other to blush and often end up in a state themselves.

Damian charms all the Kents and has fun getting to know them all after bringing him to a family dinner. After a while, Damian brings Jon home to meet the family, and Jon survives the gauntlet that is the bats and cats.

Superboy is a clingy little puppy the next time Stray visits the Watchtower, much to the confusion of most other hereos. But no one is stupid enough to risk trying to get close to Stray with his guard dog nearby. Bruce, while hesitant about their relationship at first, (he wept at the idea of losing his darling baby boy to a super of all people). Looks at Jon approvingly all meeting long.

Bruce, Talia, and Silena all give Jon permission to marry Damian after he saves him from a hostage situation at the hospital. Tim and Dick never let Jon forget they will destroy him if he ever messes up while Jason and Stephanie welcome him to the nut house.

Stray and Superboy are the JL OTP after they announce their engagement, even if a few people glare at Jon with envy. Jon knows and is so proud of himself for landing such an incredible husband.

[bejeweledinterludes]

morre dean hc i dare you

anon are you living in my phone because how did you know i had a list in my notes app of my way too niche (and definitely self-indulgent) dean headcanons… anyways enjoy!

── .✦ ⌈ my headcanons for dean winchester. ⌋

『 part 6 of @bejeweledinterludes’ headcanons series. 』

consider this a little gift for y’all before i log off for finals hehe. see you soon! ily! <3

𖤐 ────────────────────────

> dean winchester has a hunting journal, just like his dad’s. he’d started one in his early twenties because of his dad, actually— mostly to store numbers, addresses, etc. and over time (along with the evolution of technology), dean wrote in it less and less— but sometimes when there was a newspaper clipping, ticket stub, or a flyer from a hunt, he slipped it between the pages; as a reminder. a memory. so he wouldn’t forget.

and on nights when he felt drunk brave enough, he flipped through the pages of both his and his dad’s journals, for the nostalgia— or maybe the fact that it used to be so simple back then.

> while dean is definitely a hardcore metalhead when it comes to music, he also is a secret avid enjoyer of yacht rock. michael mcdonald, toto, the doobie brothers, player— you name it, dean knew the songs.

and when sam had heard the tunes of christopher cross’ sailing pierce through the walls of the bunker, he raised a brow, searching the place— only to find the source was dean’s record player in the garage as he was washing baby.

> it’s canon in my head that dean still wore jewelry, even though we don’t see literally any (besides his watch) in the later seasons. yes, his watch is still there, but he still has that silver ring— and i’d also like to think that he has the samulet somewhere, too (cas got it back for him), even though he doesn’t wear it anymore.

> it’s also canon that dean is a patrick swayze fan— but what i like to believe is that his favorite movie of swayze’s when he was younger was roadhouse because dean saw himself in dalton (or just wanted to be like him too).

his favorite movie of swayze’s now, though? dirty dancing. because swayze always gets a pass (and nobody puts baby in a corner).

> we see this quite often in the show, but it has to be reiterated— dean always sits in the back of bars, diners, or offices against the wall in a corner, in view of every single exit. same thing goes for walking on the streets too. the man is always, always, always aware. because he has to be.

call it hunter’s instinct or just plain being aware of your surroundings— either way, he’s assessing every single place he walks into, hypothetical situations already rolling: along with how fast can we get out of here and scanning every head he can see as soon as he walks in the door.

> this is kinda random but it must be said: he’d totally belive ai generated stuff. and sam would just *sighs and pinches forehead in his sam way* “dean—”

> this is technically (?????) canon too, but dean has a lot of physical media. cassettes, cds, records, dvds, magazines, etc. some are from childhood and his early adult years, some are things he found at the thrift store. he also hates streaming services, and prefers watching the movies he owns (because then he knows what’s gonna happen already).

> dean likes sweet coffee drinks. yes he drinks black drip coffee most times, because it’s cheap, fast, and easily available in most places— but it’s not his favorite. he loves a white mocha most days and he’s a sucker for a pumpkin spice latte in the fall (not in front of sam though).

> and last but not least: dean winchester is as smart as a motherfucker. we’ve seen this many times throughout the show already as well, but i don’t care! i’ll shout it from the rooftops! dean is smart— street smart. because he knows how to talk to people and get what he wants out of them, knows how to read someone’s emotions / body language, and has some crazy quick critical thinking skills when it counts. which is what makes him such a good hunter.

buttttt don’t get me wrong, dean is book smart. not nearly as much as sam, but he can easily manage, because dean had to do all the research himself when sam was away at college— essentially forced to learn, and to know how to navigate old lore books and records.

now, though, dean lets that burden fall on sam (for the most part), since sam’s read all the books in the bunker (twice).

───────────────────────── 𖤐

my master taglist: @blossomingorchids @bluemerakis @ambiguous-avery @maddie0101 @titsout4jackles @deansbeer @sunsbaby @emeraldcrs @h8aaz @honeyryewhiskey @supernotnatural2005 @cowboysandcigarettes @soldiersgirl @bruisedfig @mostlymarvelgirl @amaris444 @kaz-2y5-spn @littlesoulshine @starzify @velvetparkerx @eggggggggggggggggggggsblog @fuckedupfate @liiiilsss @angelblqde @vmiina @mahi-wayy @viarasvogue @tinas111 @0ccvltism @plasticflowersinahistorycemetery @lunaleah @saintfaux @kimxwinchester @bettystonewell @honeyyxxbee @harlekin705 @megara0224 @ej13928 + if i missed anyone OR if you want to be added/taken off, please let me know! <3

[baisemains]

Elements of Desire

Chapter 1: Freaks & Geeks

single mom!sevika x fem!reader

word count: 2.8k

contains: fluff! just a meet cute really, timebomb as a plot device, age gap technically (reader is early 30’s)

description: your newest student clashing with your brightest might be the best thing that ever happened to you.

ao3 link | spotify playlist

next // sevika masterlist

It was a normal Thursday morning and you were on your way to your chemistry classroom, already late to prep for your first class when your phone beeps. Hearing the tell-tale ring of Outlook, you know it’s something important so you pull it out of your pocket and see that the school secretary has emailed you.

‘New student being added to your first period, updating your roster now.’'

You internally groan, you’ve officially hit max occupancy for the year and it’s only the first week of October.

Taking a deep breath, you reach your classroom and quickly start to put your things in the corner behind your desk before your students start arriving.

Hearing footsteps, you look up and see one of your favorite students, Ekko, walking in.

“Hey dude, ready for today’s quiz?”

He smiles at you, both of you already knowing the answer. Ekko is the top student in your class by a mile, you’ve got no worries when it comes to him.

“Of course, teach, when have I ever let you down?”

You laugh and go back to pulling out your materials for the day.

The rest of your class files in within the next few minutes, and you’re just about to start the day’s lesson when there’s a gentle knock on the door.

Walking over, you open the door confused and see a blue haired girl standing there, nervously twiddling with the straps of her backpack.

“Hi, I’m Powder, they told me this was my first period…?”

You school your face and usher her inside, smiling as she stands at the front of the class, unsure of what to do.

“Everybody, this is Powder, our new student. Make sure you help her out if she needs it, alright?”

Murmurs of agreement float around the room as you turn to Powder.

“Follow me, I’m gonna introduce you to your lab partner.”

You walk her to the very back row of tables and stop next to Ekko’s station.

“Powder, meet Ekko. Ekko, meet Powder, your new partner.”

Ekko looks up from where he was writing in his notebook and furrows his eyebrows.

“…What do you mean, my new partner? I thought you said I could go without one this year.”

“I did, before the district filled up my class and left me no choice.”

“That’s not fair! A partner is just gonna slow me down, I’m gonna have to help her and do my work!”

Ekko starts to plead his case with you, but you hear Powder shuffle behind you and you’re not having it.

“Hey. I know it’s not an ideal situation, dude, but we’ve gotta work with what we’ve got. Give her a chance before you say anything else, alright?”

You raise an eyebrow at him and his shoulders slump, knowing you’re right. He never could really be mad at his favorite teacher.

“Okay, teach, my bad.”

He clears his stuff off of the chair next to him and you gesture for Powder to sit down.

“I’ll be right back with an assessment, okay? Let’s see where your chemistry skills are at.”

You leave the two of them and walk back to your desk to grab a general knowledge test so you can gauge where Powder sits in relation to the rest of your class. You hope she’s at least got the basics down or you’ll really feel bad for making her Ekko’s partner.

Heading over and giving it to her, you tell her to take as long as she needs while you hand out the planned quiz to everyone else.

While the kids are doing that, you sit at your desk and start grading assignments from last class. You’ve barely gotten through a handful when Powder walks up to your desk. Assuming she needs help, you look up at her and smile.

“What’s up Powder?”

Her eyes flicker between you and your computer as she chews on her lip.

“Um, I…finished my test.”

You blink at her. Glancing at your clock, it’s barely been fifteen minutes when it should’ve taken her at least thirty, and that’s comparing it to your brightest students.

Smiling softly to not make her so nervous, you put your hand out and ask to see it.

Scanning it over, you’re in shock. Every answer seems correct so far and all her work is accounted for. You wonder for a second if Ekko had helped her but quickly shot down that thought when you remember how reluctant he was to have a lab partner.

“Powder, this looks…perfect. Have you taken chemistry before?”

She lets out a shy smile as she answers.

“No, I just really like math.”

The gears in your head begin to turn as you realize you may have a star student on your hands.

“That’s great to hear! You think you’d feel comfortable taking today’s quiz? It covers the last couple units we’ve been working on.”

Her smile broadens at that.

“Yeah, that sounds okay.”

By the end of class, Powder’s successfully caught up to the rest of the kids and is starting to become an active participant, much to Ekko’s chagrin.

The next couple weeks of classes pass by quickly, and a new rivalry begins to bloom between Ekko and Powder.

At first, you thought it was just friendly competition between partners but you soon realize it’s more than that.

One day, you hear bickering from the back of the classroom and see Powder trying to reach for a test tube Ekko is holding.

The closer you get, the better you understand them when you hear Ekko yell, “I don’t need your help with this, you’re just gonna jinx me!”

As he says that, he leans back and begins to tilt the test tube directly over the boy standing at the next station.

Almost as if in slow motion, you immediately leap forward and push him out of the way as the liquid pours onto the ground and sizzles.

The entire class goes silent as you stand there staring at your two best students, feeling the smoke pour out of your ears.

The dam finally breaks as you loudly scold them both about safety guidelines and the hazards of the chemicals they’re dealing with.

They have the decency to look embarrassed and apologize to their classmate when you tell them that you’ll be contacting their parents.

Both of them look at you in horror and beg you not to, but your mind is already made up and you head to your desk to email their parents about a conference as soon as possible.

Ekko’s parents are able to meet that evening, a lovely couple that you met at Back To School Night, who apologize profusely for their son’s actions.

You tell them how you’re not going to go too hard on their son because he’s usually your best student and you know this isn’t typical behavior from him, although you do expect him to clean up his act.

Ekko sincerely apologizes and you nod, shooting him a quick smile to let him know you accept.

They thank you for your time and promise that he will no longer be a problem in class, whisking him out of the room with a large hand gripping the back of his neck.

The next night, you’re set to meet Powder’s mom as she was busy the previous one.

Having zero idea what to expect, her very curt reply to your email asking to meet didn’t leave you a whole lot to work with.

You just hope she’s not one of those parents who expect the teacher to be their kid’s only disciplinarian, you have enough of those already.

It’s nearing five o’ clock, the designated time for your meeting so you start organizing your desk a bit, not wanting anyone to think you’re a slob.

As you’re facing away from the entrance, you hear a gentle knock from the doorway and as you turn around to face your visitors, you wish you had googled the name from your email.

The last thing you’d imagined Powder’s mom to be was the hottest woman you’d ever seen, but you remind yourself she was still a parent you needed to talk to, so before you think about it too much, you wave them over.

“Please come in, both of you.”

Powder walks in first, sheepish with her hands behind her back.

Her mom follows, and your eyes trace over her face, having to look up the closer she gets.

You notice her thick eyebrows, slightly furrowed at the moment, framing her daunting grey eyes. Short black hair caresses her face, threatening to hide it from view. Her nose is prominent, and you decide how well it suits her. She also has a labret piercing, which draws your attention to her thick lips, currently situated into a closed half smile.

You don’t even realize you’re looking at her mouth until she starts talking.

“Sevika, Powder’s mom.”

Her large hand stretches out towards you and when you slip your hand into hers, it takes a good amount of effort to not shake it for longer than necessary.

It’s surprisingly soft, even with all of the calluses you can feel, and pleasantly warm. You wonder if she was wearing gloves to protect them from the chilly fall air outside or if she's just blessed with good genes.

Introducing yourself as well, you remove your hand from hers and drop it to your side, already feeling like you’re missing something.

Now looking between the two, you think that Powder is maybe adopted – or looks like her dad, you dreadfully think to yourself – because she doesn’t bear any resemblance to the Amazon in front of you.

Before you can say anything else, the woman in front of you takes a step back and nudges Powder’s shoulder before stuffing both of her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket.

“Go ahead, tell her.”

Your eyes flick up to Sevika, who’s smirking at her daughter and you quickly look back down before you catch her eye.

“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting lately, I never meant to let it go that far. I promise to lock in and be the student you deserve,” Powder declares with watery eyes, looking down at the floor when she’s done talking.

Pressing your lips together to contain your laugh, you close your eyes for a couple of seconds to gather yourself, finally opening them to see that Sevika is looking right at you.

Breaking the eye contact and clearing your throat, you look down at the girl in front of you and lay your hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you for apologizing Powder, it means a lot. I know you have what it takes to be an amazing student, you’ve been doing it this whole time. You just gotta quit the stuff with Ekko.”

She looks up at you at that, a defiant glint in her eye.

“You got it, teach,” she tells you through gritted teeth.

You giggle at her response, and then remember something else you wanted to bring up in this meeting, gesturing for both of them to sit at the station in the front row.

Grabbing a flyer from your desk, you walk back over and set it down in front of Sevika.

“So there’s a science fair coming up in the spring, and I think Powder should enter.”

Two pairs of eyes look up at you with matching lifted eyebrows, and for the first time tonight, you see a resemblance.

After laughing in your head, you continue on with your explanation.

“It’s open to all high schoolers in the state, and there’s a cash prize for the top three students; $10,000 for third, $25,000 for second, and $50,000 for first.”

Sevika’s eyes widen, letting her stoic mask slip for the first time tonight.

“The idea is to give them a head start on a college fund, but because the prize pool is so large, they require applications to even be able to conduct an actual project. They only accept the top 1,000 submissions, and then they cut it down to 100, but I really feel like Powder has a shot.”

You look between the two sitting in front you, gauging reactions.

Sevika chews the inside of her cheek as she glares at the flyer in front of her.

The first thing that enters her mind is just how life changing that money would be.

Powder's never wanted for anything, but it's also been a struggle to give her the best life Sevika feels she deserves, especially being a single mother.

'...50 grand for first place, huh?"

Sevika looks over the flyer skeptically for a few beats longer before passing it to Powder, who looks like she's about to faint from excitement.

You rub your hand on the back of your neck, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed for just throwing the idea out there like that.

Sevika's grey eyes flick back over to you after observing her daughter for a couple seconds.

"How much work is a project like this gonna require?"

Breathing an internal sigh of relief, you feel like you have a shot to convince her.

“It is gonna take up most of her free time, until the spring, I won’t lie, but if she can pull this off, it’ll all be worth it.”

Sevika lets out a scoff at that, crossing her arms over her chest as she leans back in her chair.

"So I'm just supposed to let her spend months at your beck and call? No way, I-"

Powder suddenly slams her palm on the table before Sevika can protest further.

"Pleaseee, mom?”

Sevika looks down at her daughter, eyes narrowing at being cut off.

"This could seriously change my life, our life, and I promise it won't get in the way of my school work. I won't let you down.”

Sevika’s demeanor softens at that, seeing Powder’s determination reminds her of herself in a way.

After a few seconds of silence, Sevika turns back to where you’re standing and pierces you with a look.

“I’m not saying yes. I’ll think about it, but I do want you to send me more information about this thing.”

You nod fervently, grabbing the flyer and ripping a piece off the bottom to jot your number onto it.

Passing it to Sevika, you smile warmly.

“Of course, that sounds great. You’ll have my number if you need anything.”

She takes the slip, briefly touching your fingertips as she pulls it away, your cheeks heating up at the contact.

You look down at Powder, and she’s almost in tears with excitement.

Sevika rises from her chair and motions for Powder to follow as she stands in front of you.

“I’m serious about what I said. I want every bit of information you have on this, and then I’ll consider my answer.”

To punctuate her sentence, she sticks her hand out for another handshake, and this time, you grip her palm with the same energy she’s giving you, determined to show her that you’re serious about this.

“Of course, Sevika. You have my word.”

Her mouth twitches up into a small smile when you say her name, deciding she likes the way it sounds.

You notice her small gap for the first time, and feel a little swirl in your stomach.

“We’ll be in touch then, miss. Powder, let’s go babe, I gotta grab your sister and get dinner started.”

She drops your hand – slowly, you realize – and the two of them leave out the way they came, Powder clutching the flyer in hand and waving at you as they disappear from your sight.

Taking a seat in your desk chair, you start drafting up an email with more information about the science fair to Sevika, not wanting to waste any time.

It's almost an hour later when you're finally done detailing everything Sevika needs to know, and once you hit send, you lean back in your chair and finally let out the breath you'd been holding in.

The whole interaction left you feeling a bit frazzled, but not in a bad way.

You couldn't stop thinking about Sevika's face, the crinkle in her eyebrows whenever she looked at you, her eyes boring holes into your very soul.

Really, you can't help but be a bit frustrated at the fact you hadn't been able to stop staring at her the entire time, wondering what's wrong with you for thirsting over one of your students' moms.

With an annoyed groan, you rub your face to hopefully snap yourself out of it and pack up your things to leave for the night, thoughts occupied by this new character in your life.

[howtofightwrite]

In writing a fighting scene how many sentences need to be it is always said it needs to have a variety of how long? Technical jargon better be ditched, or sometimes needs to be written? Is there any advice on how to do this, I still trying to get an idea of how to write fighting scenes? from tournaments, corridor battles (narrow and wide), room battles, field battles, war battles, or even hit-and-run battles?

So, there are multiple questions here, but some of these are going to be kind of quick.

How many sentences do you need? Enough, but no more. You need to be able to communicate to the reader what's happening in the fight. Or, at least, be able to communicate what your PoV character experiences from the fight. The more you add to it, the longer it will take your average reader to read the scene, and (to an extent) the slower they will perceive the fight.

This creates an awkward situation for a writer. If you have some, “really cool visual,” but you can't convey that quickly and efficiently, it might need to go. Especially if it's the kind of thing you'd see in a film, or comic, but that your character wouldn't be directly aware of. For example, a character isn't going to know that a blade narrowly missed their head, shaving off several locks of hair in the process, because they're probably not looking in the direction of their hair when it happens, and they're probably not going to feel it. In attempting to completely articulate that moment, you're going to slow down the fight.

Now, there is an application for this. The better a character's reflexes (really, the faster they are at processing information, which isn't technically reflexes), the more ability they'll have to actually perceive these kinds of moments as they happen, and the slow the fight will be, for them.

Technical jargon is characterization. A character who doesn't know how to fight, and has no prior aptitude for violence, probably won't have a particularly extensive vocabulary for violence. So, if that's you PoV for a fight, they don't know what they're seeing, and they might not have a vocabulary that extends much beyond hitting, punching, and kicking. This applies both to the attacks they can (intentionally) make, and what they can see and understand when other characters are attacking.

A character who is a combat veteran, with extensive training will have a much wider range of options open to them, and also a much greater capacity to accurately articulate the violence they see. They're likely to use and recognize things like stances, parries, restraints, holds, and throws.

This can lead to a specific situation that's counter-intuitive (at least in comparison to what I said at the beginning), but also very real. An inexperienced fighter, can find themselves quickly losing to a skilled opponent without really being able to understand what just happened to them. In this specific case, accurately communicating the details to the audience can be to the detriment.

So, this is all for limited narration. If you're using omniscient narration, then you'll need to make decisions on how to describe the combat. This is one situation where it's really difficult to avoid characterizing your narrator. Though, this should help make that characterization a conscious choice, rather than an accident.

Beyond that, asking about the different venues, that's a little to vague to really give any coherent answer beyond simply pointing to the earlier paragraphs. For example, when you're looking at armies clashing in a massive battle, the PoV is still the most important factor to assessing how it should be written. A general, commanding the troops from a hill behind the front lines is going to be far more interested in the overall strategic state of the battle. They'll be directing troops, trying to get orders through, watching the enemy, and trying to anticipate what they'll do. A soldier down in the melee will have a radically different experience. They may not even have the tactical background to fully appreciate the way the battle is progressing, beyond simply that there are still people trying to kill them, and they're preemptively returning the favor.

At a grander scale, a footsoldier in a war might not even have the frame of reference to really understand the state of the world beyond the scope of their orders and the battles they find themselves in. They may know who they are fighting, but, not really understand why. And, if they encounter enemy forces unexpectedly, they may have no idea what that really means for the war as a whole, where a general or commander would likely be able to understand and explain how that happened. In fact, a diplomat or spy, with extensive experience from before the war, may have entirely different understandings for how and why the enemy is maneuvering than even a general would.

Again, violence, whether it's on a personal, or a mass scale, is a venue for characterization. Who your characters are will dictate how they perceive, understand, and interact with the world around them. There isn't one way that a fight in a corridor will occur, because there isn't one kind of person who will walk into a corridor with violent intent.

If it sounds like I'm thinking of Glen Cook's Black Company novels, I am. I'm also thinking of Sandy Mitchell's Caiaphas Cain novels, and a few other stray examples.

Ultimately, this is all about characterization of your narrator, regardless whether that narrator is also a character in the story or not.

-Starke

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[themagicfolf]

I feel like a dead beat. I don't have a job, and technically don't have a bad enough disability to justify getting aid

Like, what am I doing, my BF has a job, he's basically living on his own and he's almost a year younger than me

I feel immature, like because my late teens were so traumatic and my childhood was so… empty

I never grew out of it fully, never grew up right.

I feel like this weird in between thing, instead of what I was as a kid (a kid who "had an old soul")

I'm now just an immature, failure

I feel like a child

I guess that's why I regress, try to capture what was missing and what was taken, even just for a brief moment

A fleeting whisper of what never was able to take shape

My psychiatrist, the one who did my assessment told me in the nicest possible terms, that I'm below average in many mental categories, but I'm smart.

My reading comprehension was ranked poor

My math skill was ranked very poor

Etc.

I was gifted as a child. Above average and ahead of many of my peers but now I'm just a loser.

Im no savant. I'm just a burnt out autistic girl who can't get hired anywhere.

[noahwylie]

I wanna lay out everything about the robbycollins relationship because the timeline is confusing and they fascinate me

Explicit canon info:

Adamson died in September 2020.

The single shift takes place in September 2025.

Dana tells Collins that Robby hasn’t worked this day in four years because it’s the anniversary of Adamson’s death, and that he might be a little prickly that day, but to give him a pass because he’s still blaming himself for it.

Collins is in her 4th year of residency, which means (if they go by how residents usually start their year in July) she started as an intern in July 2022.

Collins says “We [her and Robby] dated, briefly, a million years ago. Never again.”

At some point during this brief dating period, Robby got her pregnant.

Collins “gave up on him.”

She aborted without telling him because she wasn’t ready to be a mom and wasn’t even sure about the relationship.

He never knew until she told him.

Collins has done IVF on her own at least twice since then.

Two of the gossipiest nurses, who were working in the ER at the time of their relationship, don’t appear to know that Robby and Collins had a relationship at all.

Apocryphal info (stuff the creators have said but isn’t explicit canon)

This is Collins’s second career.

Robby’s relationships tend to last around six weeks because he has a hard time opening up to people emotionally.

Adamson’s death was part of the reason Robby and Collins broke up.

So based on this, I’m going to make some inferences. This is all technically my headcanoning, but it is based on the above info.

For Adamson’s death to affect their relationship, they were probably dating in the second half of 2020, maybe early 2021; meaning Collins was likely an MS3 when she and Robby were dating and not his direct employee. Collins’s statement that they “dated briefly” lines up well with Noah’s assessment that Robby’s relationships have an expiration date of about six weeks. (Since he was obviously with Janey for much longer than that, I assume that relationship took place entirely before Adamson’s death; and therefore, that death is likely a major reason his relationships no longer last beyond two months.) I assume also that Collins is not aware of the significance of Adamson’s death to Robby, because Dana has to explicitly warn her about why Robby might be off today.

So if Collins was not aware of the extremely psychologically damaging effect of Adamson’s death until Dana told her five years later, and Robby had no idea Collins was ever pregnant or that she aborted the fetus until she told him five years later… That does not speak well at all of their communication skills with each other on a personal level (though professionally they seem to work well together). It also doesn’t give me a picture of a deep, strong relationship; based on all of this, plus the fact that Perlah and Princess don’t know about them dating, this relationship feels, to me, like barely more than a fling. And as I’ve said before, Collins gives Moved On to me; like, even beyond my interpretation of her demeanor in their interactions, it’s canon that she’s attempting IVF alone. She wants to be a mother now, but NOT with Robby. I think she enjoys the occasional flirtation (see her little smile when Robby admits to trying to impress her) but that’s as far as it goes for her.

I think Robby’s behavior can be interpreted many different ways, but the way I interpret them is that he still wonders What Could Have Been. I don’t think they ever got far enough that either of them actually fell in love; but he feels there was potential there that got lost. And he sort of plays in the space of being her friend and boss and ex-lover all at the same time and he’s awkwardly trying to set her up on dates, and also still flirting a bit, and giving her leeway to work on her own.

I dunno, they are interesting to me because their relationship is sort of undefinable. It’s not really romantic, at least not anymore, but it’s also not really platonic; it’s professional but it also crosses that boundary in big ways. They have this weird combination of like, knowing each other very very deeply in one sense but in another sense not really knowing each other at all. As a sidenote: I wonder what Collins’s confession will do to that dynamic, because Robby seemed pretty torn up about it. Like the confirmation that there was in fact a Could Have Been and Collins didn’t want it… that’s painful.

[callsign-rogueone]

assessments

Aaric Graycastle x reader part two of Aaric and Sunny's story words: 1.7k 🏷: set during Iron Flame but no real spoilers. canon-typical sparring. very vague mentions of injury (a bruise and a bandage.) more of Sunny's backstory perhaps.. I promise these titles will start getting more creative after this. this one's technically a double meaning -- assessment day for Emeterrio's class, and our bbs slowly starting to figure each other out.

You consider yourself excellent at reading people, a skill you’d honed in your years of working in a tavern in Calldyr city. It made long shifts more bearable, and earned you better tips — you knew exactly how to talk to each kind of person who walked in, what to do and say to make them like you, to think you were just like them.

All you need to do is look at someone for a minute, watch them and listen to them speak, and you can gather everything you need to know about them -- where they’re from, and what their deal is.

It didn’t take long for you to figure out your entire squad.

Rhiannon, the squad leader, is the responsible, motherly one, but she’s still fierce, and has something to prove. She wants your squad to be the best it can be, and has her sights set on being a wingleader next year. 

Ridoc is the class clown who is almost never serious, but cares for his friends deeply and won’t hesitate to fight for them. He’s smarter than he lets on, and a good fighter, even though he’s smaller than some of the other guys — which isn’t saying much, because they’re all giant — but maybe you could learn a thing or two from watching him.

Sawyer, Rhiannon’s second in command and Ridoc’s best friend, who balances him out with logic and restraint, but is definitely still frequently dragged into his shenanigans — though he takes his role seriously, feeling the need to prove himself to the world.

Violet, the daughter of two generals, who was expected to follow in their footsteps despite her medical condition, incredibly smart and observant, and not to be underestimated despite her small stature. 

Sloane, who was forced to be here because of the Treaty of Aretia, as her parents were accused of treason, holds a grudge against Violet for her unclear role in the death of her brother, but seems to respect Imogen enough not to kill the girl.

Imogen, the unaffected cool-girl, was also forced to be here, but she seems to have taken it in stride. She’s clearly not afraid of anything — not to stand out, with her pastel pink hair, nor to provoke anyone, being a skilled fighter both with words and hand-to-hand.

Nadine fits into a similar category with her dark purple hair and her unrestrained laughter. She seems less serious than the others, not at all worried, but it remains unclear if that’s because she’s overconfident or underestimating the challenges that second year will bring her.

…. and then there’s Aaric. You find yourself watching him for confirmation of what you’re supposed to be doing, but also out of sheer curiosity, because you just can’t figure him out. He doesn’t fit in any box you’d sorted the others into. He’s quiet, but not because he’s shy like Sawyer. Serious, but not the rigid soldier that Dain is. There’s just something about him that you just can’t put a name to, some quality you can’t quite describe.

He doesn’t look tired at breakfast, so he’d probably heeded the wingleader’s advice to sleep early — and he must not have stayed awake all night worrying about being killed.

You’d tossed and turned, but you’d been comforted by the theoretical safety of your top bunk, a good five feet above anyone, in a corner where you can see the whole room, and your two knives — one under your pillow, one clutched in your hand like a child would a stuffed animal. 

You wear one on each hip now, tucked into the belt loops of your pants. You should really get one of those leather rigs that the second-years have to hold them in a better position. They look much more secure, and more comfortable. Maybe you can invest your last bit of coin in a card game and make enough to buy one in town. Or maybe they’re issued to everyone later in the year — most of the older cadets have something similar.

You’d been one of the first ones awake, re-wrapping your bandage and changing clothes quietly, brushing your teeth before everyone else woke up and wanted to use the bathroom.

You learn these things quickly when you live with half a dozen other girls. 

Sloane had been slower to get ready, but you’d waited for her, lingering by your bunk and giving her a nervous half-smile — silently asking if she wanted to walk together. She’d agreed, falling into step beside you out to the morning formation.

It’s easy to spot where you’re supposed to be — look for the pink, purple, and silver heads. 

Imogen looks relieved to see Sloane in one piece — then she turns to you, looking unamused. “What are you so happy about?” she asks, raising a dark eyebrow. 

You know they won’t really understand, but you tell them anyway. “I woke up this morning in a bed of my own, looking at a roof over my head, with clothes on my back that I didn’t have to steal.”

Both of them soften, realizing just how differently you’d grown up. Their childhoods and teenage years may not have been the happiest, but they were safe, and didn’t have to worry about where their next meal would come from or where they’d sleep that night.

Aaric hadn’t realized that the service could be an escape for some people, rather than a death sentence or an act of patriotism or a moral obligation. Whatever you’d faced in the city had outweighed the possibility of dying in battle — despite being incredibly underprepared, you’re the one of the three of them that wants to be there the most. 

He has several questions, none of which he can ask without giving away his little ruse — and it’s been less than twenty-four hours since you’d all crossed the parapet. But still, he wonders about you. What’s your story? Where had you lived in Calldyr City? How many miles from the castle? Had your paths ever crossed? 

For a moment, anger roils through him. He’s aware of the disparities within his father’s kingdom, the way the other half — the other nine tenths, more like — lives, but to hear you speak of it so candidly… it’s clear you’ve never known anything other than struggling to make ends meet. 

Just another item on the laundry list of issues that your dear king is so content to ignore.

“I’m sorry,” he says finally, as if he is at fault for your situation, as if he had been the one to deal you those cards — but is he not implicated in your suffering? He’s certainly complicit, passive, letting it happen.

Not that his father would listen to him if he asked him to do anything about it.

You give him a reassuring smile — you know from experience that talking about your life tends to make people uncomfortable. “Don’t be. I feel richer than the king.”

That makes him feel worse, actually.

-----------------------------------------------------------

“Bell, and Hannigan,” the professor calls, already looking and sounding bored. If everyone in the quadrant has to do one this week, that must be at least two hundred. You wonder how many have already occurred, and how many more he has to go. 

And what are they going to do with this information? Rank you somehow, for sure. Maybe they’ll split you into groups based on skill level? No, they probably aren’t that nice. Everyone has made it sound like it’s kill-or-be-killed here, literally. They probably aren’t offering any remedial courses.

You recognize the other first-year girl. She was one of the few who were up and moving before the wake-up call.

You give a nervous smile as you step onto the mat. She doesn’t return it. Either she doesn’t remember you, or she doesn’t want to acknowledge that her bed is less than fifteen feet away from yours.

Maybe this place is just like Calldyr city. The school may as well be a city of its own, with its size and population, and the way nobody here seems to care about each other, or be friendly at all — friendliness and trust would get you robbed in the nicer parts of the city, or maybe even killed in the “bad parts”, but you’d survived there your whole life.

You’ll have to do the cold-and-distant thing, you suppose. It would be nice to have friends, a group of people you can trust like Violet does, but you’ve done everything for yourself for years. You can keep doing that.

She isn’t too much bigger than you, but she looks like she knows what she’s doing, and that she’s confident she’ll win. She should be — you haven’t had anyone to practice with, lest it give away your plans. All you know is what you’ve seen from watching the drunks in the slums swing at each other, and they’re not very good examples. 

She lunges quickly, but you slip aside with ease. 

You duck a would-be punch to the jaw, attempting to kick her legs out from underneath her, but her boots are planted to the floor — it only irritates her and probably bruises her left shin.

No time to feel bad about it; she’s pushing forward again. She’s determined, you’ll give her that. 

It becomes clear that your duck-and-dodge strategy is effective in keeping yourself unscathed, but it won’t win you this fight.

You attempt a punch like hers, unsuccessfully; she catches your wrist and uses it to leverage you to the floor, where she presses you into the mat, wrenching one arm behind your back and using her weight to keep you down. You struggle for a moment before realizing she has you pinned too well. “I yield.”

“Hannigan wins,” Emeterrio announces monotonously, writing it down.

She lets go, but doesn’t offer you an apology nor help you up. Cold and distant it is, then — with everybody but your squad, who are supposedly not allowed to hurt you.

You’re three steps away from falling back into your place beside Sloane when you hear a crack and a scream.

Then all hell breaks loose in your corner of the gym.

[evolieeee]

Gotham academy probably teaches its students to drive, but the batkids already can do that. What they don’t know is to behave normal in traffic; like they’re not chasing rogues and driving a tank thinly disguised as car

Dick: was in the middle of his “I’m independent” phase and decided to show off his driving skills. Instructor did not agree with that assessment and Dick, who successfully drove off a bridge, finishing the practise route in record time (and no broken cars!), is banned from ever driving under school supervision again. Technically also banned from ever driving in Gotham in general but since when do vigilantes follow the law?

Jason: was dead, is the one responsible driver in normal life, but also the person to shoot while driving so… he’s good at multitasking while driving too?

Tim: to keep the identity secret, decided to pretend to be horrified of driving and insist on having a chauffeur. The instructor filed him away as useless rich kid

Steph: can drive normally. Can doesn’t mean will.

Cass: only knows how to drive combat vehicles, sees no use for anything else. Slept through the driving lesson by enabling the new Wayne Motors Autopilot. Passed because this was the first time the instructor didn’t have a heart attack because of the Wayne kids’ driving skills. The car dodged a rogue attack though, so yay?

Duke: The driving instructor didn’t believe him when he said he knew no one would drive across the crossing when he ran a red. Had to redo the exams twice because he kept using his powers. Ended up “borrowing” some meta power inhibitors and realised he’s slowly growing to be part of “not normal Wayne family”. Horrid.

Damian: tries to sit the exam every year, still isn’t old enough tho

[windvexer]

What counts as a spell? Is intent all you need or do you have to do something before to get it all juicy and stuff.

Hi Anon! What a fun question, because there is no answer except this CAN OF WORMS you just opened.

There is no consensus anywhere as to what constitutes a "spell."

There is even LESS consensus as to what makes a spell go.

Intent is a good starting place. It is probably where you should start for all acts of practical magic.

But I find that in it's common form, the idea of intent + willpower = magic has been diluted past the point of utility for most people.

Like if we're talking about "intent is everything" I'm reminded most closely of Chaos Magic. But Chaos Magic is not a school of "just set your intent and you've worked magic!". It's a very rigorously developed system.

In Hine's Condensed Chaos, he lists the third Core Principal of Chaos magic as technical excellence, and I quote:

One of the early misconceptions about Chaos Magic was that it gave practitioners carte blanche to do whatever they liked, and so become sloppy (or worse, soggy) in their attitudes to self-assessment, analysis, etc. Not so. The Chaos approach has always advocated rigorous self-assessment and analysis, emphasized practice at what techniques you're experimenting with until you get the results you desire. Learning to 'do' magic requires that you develop a set of skills and abilities and if you're going to get involved in all this weird stuff, why not do it to the best of your ability?

Later in the book, Hine likens "magical powers" to the concept of achievements, and goes on to say:

Something which is an achievement is the result of practice, discipline, and patience.

Shortly after:

Chaos Magic is not about discarding all rules and restraints, but the process of discovering the most effective guidelines and disciplines which enable you to effect change in the world.

(In above quotes, all emphasis my own)

But these ideas get taken - and I'll give a big nod to the LOA which is just the worst kind of brainrot for encouraging the "intent is all that matters" mindset - and the ideas get diluted so much that people are literally out here saying, "so all those people who spend years studying magic in order to get results are buffoons? All I have to do is imagine what I want and it will be delivered to me? All humans since the start of history just have to decide they want something and it will happen in a miraculous manner?"

(Not you, Anon. I'm just in a mood)

In my mind, yes - something beyond intent must occur in order to make spells go.

But what?

Anon, have you ever heard that dumb belief floating around that all herbs in a spell can be replaced by rosemary, and all stones in a spell can be replaced by clear quartz, and these two things are "universal substitutes"?

I am 95% sure that this nonsense was based on two very popular dictionaries Cunningham wrote in the 80s, the Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic, and Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.

In the very long entry for Clear Quartz:

Quartz crystal is used as a power amplifier during magic. It is worn or placed on the altar for this purpose.

And from Rosemary:

Rosemary is generally used as a substitute for frankincense.

And I believe that someone somewhere got the idea that since clear quartz amplifies all other powers, it therefore somehow magically Ditto-copies all other powers, and like a shapeshifter somehow becomes something it is not nor ever was.

And, you know. What's the difference between subbing out frankincense and blackthorn between friends?

These beliefs have become so popular that sometimes when unscrupulous blogs rip off entire Cunningham encyclopedia entries and paste them into tumblr posts (without credit), THEY INCLUDE THE EXTRA MADE-UP BIT ABOUT ROSEMARY BEING A UNIVERSAL SUBSTITUTE.

Anon, your question is "is it just intent or do we need other stuff to make it go," but sadly,

IMO common beliefs about the stuff that makes spells go have also been diluted past the point of utility for most people.

Because if I sat here and said, "hey Anon, it's not just intent, you also have to use correspondences ^-^/" then the very first thing you are likely to run into is absolute nonsense about correspondences. IMO, effective utilization of correspondences is a skillset based in research, theory, and technique.

Or if I said, "you also have to raise energy! 👍", this may be mistaken to mean, "set intent but also visualize white light inside of a candle," because the concept of raising energy and visualizing has been (IMO) diluted past the point of utility for most people. I believe that effective utilization of energy work is a song composed of many notes and chords, several of which you must practice before you can utilize it.

And to complicate all of this, which non-diluted things in which combinations you need to make the spell go depends on what paradigm you operate off of, because while there are approximately one billion ways to do magic that works, my currently very dim worldview is that most people who are talking about magic are doing magic that doesn't work,

and in my opinion the actual basis and reasoning, like the rationality behind the magical systems is really important. Because you need that shit to understand what it is within that system that makes the spell go.

And you need to understand what makes the spell go to make the system fit into your life without breaking it, and in order to troubleshoot problems without making things crumble further.

Because when people don't understand the basis and reasoning you end up with "rosemary is a universal substitute" and "imagining white light makes the spell go."

There are a few circumstances where you can totally strip technique from theory and be successful, but there are also a hell of a lot of people out here feeling shit about their practice because their spells never seem to work.

So.

I really just recommend choosing what school of magic you would like to learn about and participate in, and reading an introductory book on it.

This is because it is the job of introductory books to explain the principles and theories behind a system of magic, and most importantly, what makes the magic go, and a step-by-step primer on what you, the practitioner, are supposed to do to make that kind of magic go.

Despite above rambles I'm really not a Chaote, so I can't recommend a strong primer. As far as I'm aware, Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll is a core text.

For Traditional Witchcraft, try The Crooked Path by Kelden.

For something more Wiccan, I can't recall having anything bad to say about Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn.

If either of these things are too Witchcrafty for you, try Six Ways by Aidan Wachter, which is still witchcraft, but it hits different.

For a general primer on helping your spells go, try Elements of Spellcrafting by Jason Miller.