#with work experience and having to draw on command etc

[stevelieber]

Thoughts on giving critiques to comics artists.

Seeing lots of discussion from students about sour experiences with an unhelpful art teacher, so here's a long, long post about giving critiques.

NB: I have no formal training as a teacher, but I was a student, and I've spent decades giving artists feedback on their work.

When someone brings me a portfolio, I like to establish my limitations & clarify my perspective. My work is firmly rooted in traditional US comics storytelling (i.e., not manga or art-comics.) I can give feedback on other approaches but they should know where I’m coming from.

“We've only got a little time for this, so I'm going to spend that time focusing on things to correct. That doesn't mean you're doing everything wrong, or that there’s nothing good here, but it’ll be more helpful if I identify some problems and show you how to fix them.”

Why? Because for many young artists their entire sense of self worth is wrapped up in being good at what they do. (It was for me!) In school they were probably the best artist in their peer group. But now if they're hoping to turn pro, they’re at the bottom.

Sometimes you know what’s up when you see page 1, but try to keep an open mind. Some build their portfolios by sticking new pages at the back & don’t weed out the old stuff up front, so the work gets better as you go. When it’s like that I ask: “Show me your best 8 pages.”

I ask questions: "What's the goal? Do you want to be hired to work on someone else's project, or to get the story you're showing me here published?"

If 1, I steer towards a portfolio that'll showcase hirable skills. If 2, I look for what tweaks will make that particular story more effective.

"Do you have teachers giving you regular feedback? What are they telling you?" Sometimes a student is getting bad advice. In cases like that, I'll do my best to be extra clear WHY I'm giving them advice that's 180 degrees from what they've been hearing.

“What artists are you looking at? Is there someone you admire or try to emulate?” This often helps me understand choices they're making, and I can sometimes incorporate things those artists do into my suggestions.

I ask myself questions about what I’m seeing. First: Is there a narrative? If not, I make it 100% clear I'm not speaking as any sort of expert. I'm good at critiquing storytelling, but don't have anywhere near as much to offer illustrators or designers.

Can I follow the story? Or am I confused about what's going on? Are the characters and settings drawn consistently? If not, is the artist at least making use of tags (distinctive clothing, hair etc.) to keep the characters recognizable?

Does the artist demonstrate a good command of basic academic drawing? If not, Do I think they need it? Do I focus on "how to draw" or on "what to do when you can't draw?" Is the artist putting the viewer’s eye where it needs to be to tell the story effectively?

(At this point I’m usually doing little doodles to go with my instructions. I scribble out ugly little 5 second diagrams that I hope will clarify what I’m talking about. Or they might make me seem demented. Hard to say!)

Is the artist making choices that are creating more work than necessary? Is there a particular weakness? I once spoke to an artist with a portfolio full of great work when he was drawing animals and monsters, but his humans were amateurish in comparison. I spent that critique talking about drawing people.

A crit can be a grab bag. In addition to big-picture advice, I'll point out tangencies, violations of the 180-degree rule, wonky anatomy, weird perspective, places where the artist neglected to do important research, odd choices in how they spotted black, whatever catches my eye.

I also try to make a point of defining the terms, so that jargon like “tangency,” “180-degree rule,” and “spotting black” don't go over their heads. Find simple, concrete ways to talk about these things, & clarify why it's a problem when they aren't done correctly. Draw diagrams!

Recognize that even a perfectly phrased explanation might not sink in. Some lessons can only be learned when a student is ready, and it might take a year or two of work before they can understand what you were saying. It's good to plant seeds.

Are there other artists who are particularly good at solving the problems the student is trying to solve? I steer them towards that artist's work. And I always recommend life drawing & the use of reference to give work variety and authority.

Despite what I said earlier about focusing on what's wrong, I try at the end to find something encouraging to say. And if I’ve really piled on the criticism, I emphasize that I only spent the time and energy to do so because I take their efforts seriously.

If I've done my job right, they'll leave my table with tools to make their work better. And maybe in a few years they'll be looking at some younger artist's work, surprised to discover just how much you can learn when you're asked to teach.

[inaconstantstateofchange]

Mephistopheles's Deal - Devilish Hierarchy in the Forgotten Realms

[Spoilers for Astarion's personal quest and also pretty much the entirety of the game.]

So, I have a lot of thoughts about the devils in Baldur's Gate 3. I think in general, Larian has done a pretty solid job of drawing from and referencing the Forgotten Realms lore as it relates to their characters and storylines, but with the devils is where the most has been lost in translation to the broader audience.

There is a big difference in the Forgotten Realms between devils and demons - it's more than just semantics. This is one area where the alignment charts are actually useful - Devils are Lawful Evil, while Demons are Chaotic Evil. What this means in practice, is that devils are evil, yes, but they are also intensely bureaucratic and bound by specific laws, structures, and hierarchies. Demons are the exact opposite, misshapen monstrosities (for the most part) that do not belong in the world and are driven to lash out at it for its existence alone.

The "Blood War" that Karlach and a few other characters mention in Avernus? That is devils vs. demons. In fact, devils were originally celestials themselves, that became corrupted in their efforts to stop the tide of demons. The remaining celestials turn a blind eye to the Hells (or actively encourage its existence) because the devils are the forces holding back the encroaching Abyss, a far greater threat than they themselves could ever be.

The major area that we see this hierarchy expressed is in the layers of the Hells, the different dominions. Zariel is the least powerful Archdevil, ruling (and fairly recently come to power, too) the First layer: Avernus. The second-strongest Archdevil, of the Eighth layer, is Mephistopheles, superseded only by Asmodeus, the Archdevil of the Ninth layer.

With regard to the overall power level of the archdevils, this is where the exact answer gets a bit fuzzy. It has varied by edition, and personal take on the lore, but the ultimate point of agreement is this: no matter how powerful you personally think the Archdevils may be, Asmodeus is the exception. He has at least the strength of a greater god (one with a wide and expansive domain crossing multiple worlds), not even including the additional power he would be able to bring to bear by virtue of his domain, were a conflict to take place within it.

Raphael and Mizora, the two "devils" we have the most direct experience with as players, are not true devils at all, but rather cambions: half-devils. This allows them to skip some of the steps of power development usually required for devils to increase their power, but also stratifies them a bit with that development. Their primary advantage is freedom of movement between the planes, granted to them by their mortal parentage.

(The above is just part of the reason why Raphael's "plan" is so laughably doomed to abject failure, but that is a meta for another day.)

On to souls: why do devils need them, how do they get them, and what do they use them for?

Devils have an entire society based on backstabbing, conniving, one-upmanship, and, most importantly: paperwork. The devils - especially the Archdevils - are always looking for ways to get one up on each other. Not even necessarily to take their positions (although if it so happens to work out that way, all the better), but just to have information, leverage, even one point of superiority over them, etc.

One of the primary ways devils can bolster their power levels is based on the number (and quality) of souls under their command. Those souls, when willingly signed away, do not go to the usual Fugue Plane upon death, to be taken by whatever god values them most highly to their own afterlife. Instead, they go directly to the Hells. There they begin the standard progression of lowest-ranked devils: tortured to wring out what magical energy can be gleaned from them, then starting as lemures on the lowest rungs of the hierarchy, contributing to the infernal economy and adding to their ruling Archdevil's power, ranks, and influence.

Unwilling souls can be used, but they are generally considered to be the lowest quality, used mostly for things like soul coins, etc.

Note: this is where this is going from primarily lore-backed meta to meta I am extrapolating onto a bit, based on what seems logical to me.

If souls can only be willingly signed away, why can Cazador pay for his contract with Mephistopheles by trading the souls of others? Based on the legalistic evil of devils, my take is that, by the properties of magic and vampirism in the Forgotten Realms, "legally" speaking, the spawn he creates are enough a part of him that he is able to speak for their souls in their stead.

Based on this property, and the aforementioned power scale of the devils, the thought arises: does it really make that much sense for the Dark Urge to just be able to waltz into the Eighth layer of the Hells and steal the Crown of Karsus? It would make much more sense if it was willingly given - or at the least, allowed to be taken - by Mephisto, who stood to gain something much better than a bauble of not much use to archdevils: souls, and a multitude of them.

If Cazador is able to sign away the souls of his spawn, due to them being magically recognized as a part of him, I believe the same would be true for mindflayers turned by the controlled Netherbrain. The goal of the Dead Three was to ultimately transform an untold number of denizens of the Forgotten Realms, to take their souls and the power from their worship away from the gods (they never claimed to be brilliant strategists, we'll leave it at that). Mephisto, then, would stand to gain a great deal in being able to make use of those souls himself.

I do think that rather than a heist, Durge and/or Gortash made a deal with Mephisto for the Crown in exchange for the souls of any transformed mindflayers. A win-win for both parties, by all accounts.

Shame about the unforeseen brain damage and/or ragtag team of meddling do-gooders - and their owlbear, too.

[tadpoles-and-daydreams]

Hey there! Hekate has pointed me toward your blog and I just wanted to say hi 💞

I do have a question though, have you ever had deities help you with motivation and executive functioning skills? I've got ADHD and the "laziness"(🤢) or what I call "going slug mode" (staying in bed all day, no motivation to shower, etc) really commands my life.

My periods of deity work tend to coincide with my periods of productivity and energy, but I often fall off when, well, everything else falls off. So I guess I'm also looking for advice or at least to connect with someone who's had similar experiences.

(I've also connected with Aphrodite and Loki! Other gods I've worked with in the past are Mother Hathor and Brigid)

First off, I may or may not have had so many feelings upon seeing "Hekate has pointed me towards your blog" because the idea that my blog can be useful enough that a deity would go "go look at what that dude has to say" just brings me so much joy.

Second off, OH THIS IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING I SHOULD SCREAM ABOUT THANK YOU. I can't believe I haven't already made a post about this!!

I, too, am an ADHD motherfucker and I have always had so many issues with keeping up with my craft. I will absolutely be calling it "slug mode" from now on, that's the best fucking way to put it. I've had deities help me with executive function at times, but if I'm honest I've forgotten lately that I can ask them for help with that. More often than not it looks more like nudging me towards a task than giving me the energy- but that doesn't mean you can't ask! It just means I forgot I could, lol.

This is gonna be a chonker post, so I'm breaking this post up into two parts; 1, why accepting "falling off" was the best thing I could have done for myself and 2, how to still connect with your craft (and deities) through those times anyway.

So for one, you're not broken or a failure, and your deities fuckin' love you.

Call me philosophical, but hear me out; I've always worked in cycles. Cycles of insane productivity, cycles of tiredness, cycles of hyperfixation on one thing, then another, then another. I'm just someone who works that way, and I've always viewed it as a problem to be fixed. I've always viewed MYSELF as a problem to be fixed, which really started with the school system but that's an unrelated rant. So, apologies for getting a bit intense especially since this may not apply to you personally, but just in case:

You're not a problem. You don't need to fix yourself. The world works in cycles. Seasons, reincarnation if you subscribe to that belief, the water cycle, and a billion other things I've forgotten- working with cycles is just a natural way of going about life that I think shouldn't be forgotten. I have intense periods of growth in my craft, and I have periods where I don't do much and instead play my favorite video game for eight hours straight- and that's okay! One of the best things I did for myself and my craft was give myself permission to do that. I, and you, are not failures as witches for "falling off" and our deities love us anyway. Not in spite of it, either, because of it. They know how to work with the cyclic nature of things; people are no different.

So honestly, there's a chance that none of this will make sense to you- but there's a chance that you, and maybe others seeing this post, might find that giving yourself permission to go through cycles might be the best thing you could do.

Okay, now that I've yelled about that, here's ways that I keep myself connected to my craft and my deities during my less witchy periods.

I give myself permission to use witchcraft for "dumb shit." I have at least one post on this, but witchcraft can BE childish, playful, "dumb-" it doesn't need to be serious all the time. So I'm learning to let go of what I think it should look like and recognize that sometimes the way to stay connected is to lay in bed and draw a sigil on my phone as a mini-spell to manifest a nice little treat or a thing I want in a video game.

This isn't deity work, but it had been huge for me: SIGILS. Sigils my beloved. I don't often have the time, energy, or supplies to do what most people think of when they talk about spells. So instead, if I'm feeling like I could do a spell for something but that's just too much, sigils can be done on my phone or computer while just chilling. Also, if you're like me and a writer, I just write spells too. Literally the same way I write statements for sigils, but a bunch of 'em.

Personally I just talk to my deities. I would like to do this more, actually. You don't need to have a big reason for calling them in, just ask them to sit with you and talk about your day or infodump about a special interest. They're not going to deem it unimportant; you're important to them.

Turn anything into a devotional activity if you want. Any self-care. Not just the typical stuff; I mean food, meds, literally any sort of "maintenance" to keep your body and mind running! If you can't do those, play music you associate with them, or watch a show/play a game and invite them to just sit with you. Whatever you're already doing, you can just ask them to do it with you. If that's literally just laying in bed doing nothing but feeling crappy, I can assure you I've asked them to sit with me during those days too and they've been more than happy.

Literally most of my offerings are just random food. As we speak, I have a little tiny thing with a few sips of soda because I give Loki some when I drink some. If you don't have the time or energy to put it on the altar, literally just drink it with the intention that you're drinking it "for" them. When I did a reading and Kali visited for it, she asked for a graham cracker of all things. It doesn't have to be associated with them. Virtual offerings too! If you can, I've seen people just scroll through pinterest/google images and pick images to offer to their deities.

This might not be something you struggle with, but this is definitely something I would need someone to tell me so: ASK. PLEASE. ASK FOR THINGS. They're not going to riot if you ask for things!! Let them help!! Ask for things, unapologetically if you can muster it!!! I am using excessive exclamation marks for a reason, I swear. My deities are in a constant state of telling me to just ask for things.

Be gentle with yourself. Genuinely, I think one of the best ways to honor your deities doesn't even require them to be there at all; just try not to hate on yourself for being the way you are, because they wouldn't want you to.

Overall, my only advice is just... throw away what you "should" be doing and find out what you LIKE doing. What works for you? It's a hard question to answer, but it gets a lot easier when you start looking away from what "should" work. Your deities are working with you, they wouldn't be working with you if they didn't accept every single part of you. That includes slug mode.

As always, my DM's and asks are open if you have any more questions/just want to connect because being a neurodivergent witch sometimes just feels isolating at times! If you actually read this whole post thank you, I hope some of it helped!!

[queerfics]

[QueerFic's] NSFW Alphabet: Yara Greyjoy

A/N: Hello!!! Yes, this has been done before, but I wanted to give my own personal spin on Yara's NSFW alphabet:)

NO MINORS BEYOND THIS POINT

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

In my mind, Yara is quite the chatterbox. She's not really up for extensive aftercare, though she certainly wouldn't refuse a bath together, but I feel like aftercare for Yara resides in conversation or physical touch. Did you enjoy yourself? What did you like? How do you feel? She wants to hold you and draw out those last fleeting sparks from the skin to skin contact.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Yara is an ass woman. Everyone's got an ass, man or woman, and she loves them all. Having something soft to grab on to, and the way that it extends into your hips, your thighs, she adores it.

On herself, I think Yara probably likes her hands or her shoulders. She likes something that makes her feel strong, and her arms bare the most of the physical labor and fighting she does, so they remind her of her capability and strength, and it kind of turns her on a little bit. She likes to be intimidating.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically)

Especially with women, Yara is a swallower. It's symbolic of her hard work, and I think she views it as a reward rather than an end goal, and something for you to both enjoy. I think Yara has a bit of an oral fixation, so I'm sure she loves to have her face covered in it in all honesty, or to ride her partner's face and have it on theirs.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Yara loves to seduce any woman on the ship. Crewmate, passenger, prisoner, it's her little game of cat and mouse, and she plans on winning.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

I don't remember if this is canonical or just fandom stuff, but I heard/read somewhere Yara has fucked a woman from each of the seven kingdoms? Yeah I believe that. She's probably aiming for 20 from each about now.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Yara loves to ride, Yara loves to be ridden. It's a must for her. I feel like she would also love having someone in her lap, or missionary or a mating press. Anything that commands power, eye contact, and complete openness or vulnerability,

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

She'll definitely crack a joke or two, especially in aftercare. We all love Yara for her smart mouth, boldness and outright attitude, and I don't think that's something that simply slips away when she's horny.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

I don't think she cares, and tbh I don't think she cares about other people's grooming either. Definition of "baby call me Moses cause I'm gonna part the Red Sea" or "the wilderness must be explored" or something LMFAO

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Intimacy is key for her! And being a little silly or sarcastic doesn't ruin that intimacy. She needs to feel a connection to the person, and she thrives on that moment when she "syncs" with someone and it turns into more of a dance or rhythm. Eye contact is crucial.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

In some ways I feel like Yara is a 5 minutes and go girl, or she's just too busy and just waits to find a partner, but I also like to think about her late at night in her bed, full of her own fingers, without a care in the world.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

VOYEUR oh my GOD I am a devout believer in voyeur Yara. YES she would fuck you in front of her whole crew, in ANY throne room, on ANY ship, in ANY dining room, for fun or to prove a point. She herself might not get naked, but she loves that anyways, it makes her feel so powerful to be fully dressed while her partner is bare and vulnerable.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

I feel like Yara loves to fuck in public, like on the deck late at night or giving head on a balcony somewhere, but I feel like she also holds a special place for her own large bedroom, perhaps a secluded tower, where she can really lean into her deepest desires and do whatever she pleases, even if it involves getting a little sadistic.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

When is she not ready to go???? I feel like she's always ready ngl, but I feel like if she saw you fight someone off or help with manual labor, she'd go nuts. Or like sitting on her lap in front of the crew, making any bold comments or attitude.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Yara is up for a threesome, foursome or orgy on occasion, but she isn't going to do an open relationship in a committed relationship or marriage. If you were just a hookup buddy, it wouldn't bother her, but if you're serious, she doesn't like the idea of you being intimate without her being involved.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Head is Yara's expertise. When she gives, she usually likes to be completely in charge. When she receives, it's 50/50. Maybe she's sat up and playing head pusher, or maybe she's tied up and growling and whining.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Yara is typically large and in charge lmao. I feel like she can definitely both, but given her tendency to intimacy, multiple rounds, and basking in pleasure, I feel like she leans more towards slow and sensual, but still fairly rough, to really draw it out.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Oh she 100% would. She'd fuck you until you cum on her face then wipe her mouth and walk out on deck like nothing happened. Better a quick fuck than none at all I guess.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Absolutely. Yara loves creativity. She sleeps around because she loves new experiences, so she'll take experimentation anywhere she can get it.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Yara can definitely go for a while, especially when receiving, she's an absolute soul-sucking demon.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

YARA WITH A STRAP SUPREMACY! Yara will give that strap to anyone who asks for it, and I'm sure she'd love to ride one or get stuffed.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

We're talking about the same woman right? Yara's whole thing is teasing and banter. She's grabbing you in front of anyone and everyone, saying the nastiest things over the dinner table where anyone could hear, reaching under the table and grabbing at you.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

I feel like Yara is definitely expressive. She'll grunt and groan and let out soft moans, but she's not exceptionally loud. She moreso leans into dirty talk, but she'll get on her knees for a partner who will scream her name.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Yara has got to be a scissoring LEGEND. No strap? No problem. She's meat-to-meating that pussy like it's her dying fucking wish.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Scissoring legend is till on my mind so I'm fingers crossed for big clit Yara :') Like she has big dick energy but no dick so I'm hoping that translates.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Yara has "it's five o'clock somewhere" energy when it comes to sex, but I feel like she's definitely crazy about morning sex, or middle of the night, wake-up fucks.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

I think Yara fucks in the daytime honestly more at night time, and it probably reinvigorates and energizes her because of that, so I wouldn't be surprised if it actually kept her awake and that's why she has such insane stamina.

[running-with-the-feels]

i’d love to hear some of your subscorp headcanons that haven’t made it into your fics 🫶 (love your work btw)

thank you so much!

The list might include headcanons that are in the fics as well, just bc I can't remember what all I've included

Hanzo is a cuddler, if he is in bed with another person he will end up wrapped around them like an octopus. Kuai Liang on the other hand isn't used to touching people so whenever Hanzo wraps around him he ends up just lying there, buffering.

Sparring is one of their favorite ways to flirt, partly bc they're the only ones who can give each other a real challenge and partly bc they like seeing each other all sweaty and shirtless and whatnot.

Their first date was probably a mission, not bc they'd planned that but bc they got the mission as they were leaving for their date and didn't want to waste the opportunity.

Similarly, Hanzo was probably the one that said it first (as often as I write otherwise) as he is, somehow, the more emotionally mature one between the two and Kuai Liang would not admit to an emotion if his life depended on it.

It probably happened either during or after a near death experience as well, as Hanzo's self loathing would probs make him keep it a secret.

Once they say it tho they go from allies to practically married in zero seconds flat, it's just instant.

I also think that if Kuai Liang ever. managed to track down his home from before he and Bi-Han were taken by the Lin Kuei and get some of the heirlooms and keepsakes (parents' wedding rings, photo albums, etc) he'd give Hanzo one of the rings and wear the other.

He also would not tell Hanzo where he got the ring, so Hanzo would find out from Bi-Han and probs have to go lie down for a minute while he processed that.

They are attached at the hip too, like thank god they have trustworthy ppl as their seconds in command bc they spend every other day at each other's temple. They can't be apart for more than a few hours or they get irritable.

There's a betting pool amongst the Special Forces about when they're going to get together. Takeda has considerable money on the outcome and keeps trying to nudge things into his favor.

Neither Hanzo nor Kuai Liang is aware of the betting pool.

For all that Hanzo is the more hotheaded one, Kuai Liang is actually the one more down with violence. Like someone insults Hanzo and Kuai Liang is Immediately in Attack Mode.

Hanzo is incredibly tactile too, like he needs to be touching Kuai Liang at all times. It took a while to get used to it, but now Kuai Liang jsut melts into the contact every time

NSFW Territory

Kuai Liang has a praise kink, he likes to know that he's done a good job and really enjoys it when he can make Hanzo moan.

Kuai Liang also likes to be the one in control more often then not, which Hanzo is thrilled about bc it means he doesn't have to think for the next couple of hours.

They both like biting and leaving marks but while Hanzo is happy to stop at a pretty big hickey, Kuai Liang wants to draw blood. Kuai Liang is somewhat embarrassed about that but Hanzo is Delighted.

They both have a quite frankly ridiculous amount of stamina and after a close call they'll sometimes just lock themselves in their room for a full day and just not come out.

Both of their powers do occasionally come out during sex, but while Kuai Liang enjoys that and uses it to his advantage, Hanzo is just worried he'll end up burning their house down so he tries to avoid it by keeping things under control.

Kuai Liang likes to see how far he can push that control and whether or not he can break it (spoiler alert, he can)

I think that's everything, but let me know if you want more and I'm sure I can think of some

[teaableu]

Updated the design for Two’s arm.This should be easier to draw over and over again. Right now I’m thinking it uses Empyrean and that crystal Donnie snatched in Mystic Mayhem

ALSO! Some little notes and sketches for One and Two + Draxum doodles because I just realized I need to learn how to draw him

First Page

Two Notes

ambidextrous (R first, L by necessity)

metal plates resemble muscular ligaments, shift against each other, stiffer for protection of wires etc.

armlet covers ligament plates, which protects crystal

Plates can close off to protect empyrean but usually visible to show off

sleeve: attach nerves/wires, automatic pairing

(armored sleeve) Guard: flexible alloy, little crystal enhancement but enough to respond to commands, hooks for prosthetic, automatic pairing

prosthetic plastron

empyrean acts as artificial blood vessels, works with crystal as nervous system: empyrean receives neural impulses and gives to crystal 

Water calms him down

wires and stuff, crystal-powered boots

taller more powerful leg enhancements stored in lab

Second Page

One loves to swim, not allowed to

Two has webbed-ish fingers, but has never swam before, so his prosthetic doesn’t have webs

Two mimics Draxum: horns and claws, spikes, gold lining, eyebrows

One has his own style, focus on stealth and mobility = loose clothing

Draxum dialogue:

Draxum: I am so proud of my experiments

Munnin: That’s great, you should tell them!

Draxum: No

[esther-dot]

If good chunks of people are refusing to see Dark Dany even after reading books and watching show, could it be grrm fault somewhere? I am not saying that he is a bad writer or Dany is a badly written character. But sometime I wonder that writing could be better. Especially related to handling of POCs in her arc and her unnecessary sexualisation. She was the one character whose show character was close to book according to author.

I don’t think he’s playing games with the audience the way D&D did. People often say the show just needed more seasons, but I think the problem was, D&D wanted Dany to be a heroine in the audience’s eyes until the moment she burned KL, so their choice there, to essentially force-perspective things by excluding dark moments from the books re-writing Tyrion, Jon, even Davos once they came onto the screen with her, that makes them “responsible” for the audience not getting Dark Dany in a way Martin is not.

If, say, they had left in Dany’s command to kill everyone wearing a tokar, and we had witnessed teenagers being slaughtered at her bidding, I think the audience would have realized the story we were watching. Or, maybe if Davos who had just lost a little girl he adored to a fire obsessed woman had cautioned Jon, or if D&D had Jon admit his fears to Sansa... There are so many things D&D could have done that would have permitted the audience to draw their own conclusions as characters responded to Dany in a more believable way, but D&D didn’t want to give away the twist. I don’t think Martin is doing that.

What he is doing is expecting readers to engage with the emotional world of characters while simultaneously exerting some judgment about larger ethical ideas. I believe agentrouka-blog has written on this. Martin is dedicated to the reader doing the work and not compromising his artistic standards, we all come to different conclusions about what his moral framework is, hence all the contradictory spec. Because of how he's written ASOIAF, and since it is so much more demanding than one might expect from genre fiction, I can't really blame the casual reader for not coming to firm conclusions about what his view is/how it all will end. It can be difficult when reading something to tell what's merely being presented to us, and what the author is endorsing (two different things!) when we don't have the end of the story.

Do I blame Martin? Well...I certainly can't criticize him for not being didactic, no one wants to read that nowawdays, but when you try to be a hands-off writer, to show not tell, all sorts of different interpretations are gonna happen. As I've tried to improve my own writing and make it more immersive, I've gotten readers upset with me as if *I* am saying something about Sansa or Jon, and I had to clarify, well, that's how they see the situation, that's how they feel, that isn't the reality of the situation, and it isn't what *I* am telling the reader to think. Now, I am not a subtle writer, and Martin is far more sly than most, and yet in my very limited experience, you can be pretty dedicated to undercutting a character's version of reality to communicate something more to a reader, and they can still miss it. If good writing is showing, if respecting your audience is assuming they'll intellectually engage rather than immediately react, I'm not sure if you can fault him for people not picking up on Dark Dany. He's trying to write literature, not spoon food people. (This of course, is with the understanding he won't pull a D&D and destroy other characters to keep the burning of KL /Dany's final descent into darkness a surprise).

Something I have lamented are his blog posts assuring people how different his books will be from the show when he has to know, the vast majority of the fans are upset about Dany's ending, are taking his words to be about Dany. He isn't being dishonest--the journey to his ending will be quite different, he does have characters that weren't in the show etc, but I think we all know how misled people will feel when we get TWOW. Still not technically his fault tho! And I should note, he did make it clear how awful slavery is in his fictional world right at the beginning of AGOT, and then he had Dany witness the slavery and rape and death that happens as a result of a war campaign and then had her use forced labor and profit off of the slave trade. It isn't his fault people have chosen to defend it and convince themselves that we aren't meant to judge her. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It also isn't his fault that some of the smart fans, the dedicated fans, know Dany will burn KL, but still theorize that she is a hero who will die saving the world...ya know, after she commits mass slaughter. It isn't his fault the ASOIAF "experts" assure people Dany murdering countless civilians isn't her downfall, and is instead, a speedbump. This is the peril of mature writing, of trying to elevate the genre. You give your audience space and they may run in a…surprising direction. If he ever finishes, it will a wonderful pay-off, even if it is a headache for us Dark Dany fans. Even so, I know why other fans don't see Dark Dany. Literature is an emotional experience as well as an intellectual one. I read some of the posts about what Dany meant to abuse survivors after s8 and even though it didn’t change my mind about who she was/the fact that she had to be stopped, it did make me realize why people couldn’t fathom that she was always intended for such a fate.

I agree that Martin has issues with his writing, how he's handled POC in his world, how he has sexualized Dany in the text and how he has spoken of her in interviews…that’s on him. I do think you're onto something that if he had done more to flesh out the characters that surround Dany, people would have been clued into where it was all going. Maybe that's his thought process, if you aren't enamored with Dany, if you think of the people who suffer in order for her rise..we might be less lost in her struggle, less caught up in the moment, and perhaps he doesn't intend the reader to fully grasp it all just yet. However, I don’t think hiding Dark Dany is why she is overlysexualized or why he wrote the Dothraki the way he did. I attribute that more to the norms of the era he grew up in/the problems with the works that he was formed by.

[system-of-a-feather]

Some Anecdotal Debunking Things About DID Treatment and DID in General

So we're thinking of possibly taking a VOLUNTARY break from therapy as we swap insurances, pick up a new job, open a new part in life etc due to it being an additional complication and we have gotten to a place in healing where we are not as dependent on regular professional support (though we do intend to return when settled to work through a few more things)

And while I know its no where compared to how long some others have been in it, after 7 years of weekly / biweekly therapy and 5 years of DID specialist therapist who explicitly worked with the FBI that helped victims from trafficking cases (luckily not us) just some straight up things about DID that I see non-DID people saying especially on a certain other website that starts with r and ends int t.

Thought it would be a fun thing to do while biking and before studying.

DISCLAIMER: This is based on my experience in healing and working with my therapist. My answers are not the only experience. This is 100% anecdotal. I don't think this will get big enough for me to need to say this, but do not use this post as evidence for literally anything.

"DID isn't having a bunch of friends in your head talking and making jokes and waiting for turns!"

Eh, usually not but why can't it be? Like it takes time and work but people without DID can sit in their head and make jokes at themselves and have fun with themselves. Why is it so outlandish that someone with DID could eventually be happy enough with themselves to get that? Cause tbh, its a lot of how thing are now for us so...

"DID is due to severe and horrific childhood trauma! There can't be this many people who experienced that!"

Oh how I WISH I had your naivety.

"No therapist would just acknowledge something! They would always diagnose! If they don't diagnose you don't have it."

Nah they do. Sometimes its not the main or relevant concern to diagnose (as DID is the primary diagnosis) and other times the diagnosis itself is stigmatizing and/or not the strongest in its construct (a lot of personality disorders) or most of the symptoms of that disorder are mostly covered by other disorders; or just straight up they don't like to diagnose those disorders for a number of clinical reasons. Also, sometimes people are undiagnosable which does not mean "does not have" but that their specific case makes it impossible to create a certain diagnostic differential as it is unclear which came first. We are undiagnosable for autism as we have had an autism and trauma specialist both say we behave and appear very autistic however we have too few overt dysfunctions so it is unsure if we "learned it" from the two family members we have + have OCD, OCPD and PTSD or if we are just a well-adjusted / adapted individual. Either way, it would hardly be a relevant diagnosis, so no therapist finds value in trying to spend time getting the the core of it.

"You can't switch on command!"

Yes but no. You can learn to be really good at switching and drawing parts out but there will always be a margin of error cause shit be like that.

"You can't have two alters talking at the same time at the front! You can't rapid switch"

Yeah nah, we've had four it's chill. Welcome to lessening dissociative barriers.

"You can't split alters after childhood"

the fuck you on about of course you can life sucks after childhood too dumbass

"Introjects / Fictional Introjects aren't real!"

Nah. *sips drink in introject*

"Animal alters aren't real! Inanimate object alters aren't real!"

Nah. Our therapist has seen dragons and zombies and werewolves, we had even specifically mentioned this. They're pretty darn common.

"Why are all their alters QUEER?"

Have you considered.... that they might be queer? Just a thought.

"If you had DID people would know! It would be obvious!"

Nope.

"If you had DID no one would know! It would be covert!"

Also nope.

"A GOOD therapist would not let you operate as different parts! They wouldn't feed into the delusion! They'd have you fuse"

Wow, I didn't know forcing your patient to do anything is the HALLMARK of a good therapist, thanks for letting me know. /s

"DID is a life altering disorder! It would ruin your life! You would be unable to do anything!"

Uhhhh no. That's just infantilizing and honestly a really negative / problematic thing to say about anyone with mental illness. Thats the shit that perpetuates the "this mentally ill person should be institutionalized 24/7

"People with DID can't drive!"

Partially true. A lot of people with DID can struggle with driving, but plenty can navigate that.

"Parts can't talk to one another! Parts don't know about eachother! Parts dont know / talk / do XYZ"

Nope. Just that shits all dumb ngl get your head out of your ass.

"People with DID would hate having parts! People with DID would not actually identify as multiple people! People with DID would be chronically miserable!"

Bro stop. Not true.

"People with DID would ALWAYS identify as multiple people. People with DID would LOVE having parts"

Not as common of a thing I've heard but also not true

"Befriending and sharing your experiences / being overt with your DID expression is only harmful and only worsening the condition."

Nah a large part of DID recovery is learning about your disorder and the parts you have to navigate life with and realistically it is very difficult to hide this disorder from people who are permanent parts in your life so a lot of the time - at least with your close personnel - it's very important to be open and communicative about it and leave space for all parts to exist as they wish.

"You can't have THAT many disorders"

Have you read about how badly chronic childhood stress fucks up the body and brain? People with DID tend to have a fucking essay worth of diagnoses. Chronic childhood traumatic stress is extremely damaging and taxing.

That's all for now cause I need to get to studying but just a few. Maybe Ill add more as I think of more stupid things I've heard.

EDIT: one more important one

"XYZ trauma isn't real! This is all just the Satanic Panic! False Memories! Iatrogenic! XYZ trauma is fake! RAMCOA isn't real!"

You are a mother fucking little bitchy asshole huh. Who the fuck do you think you are? Please refer to fucking #2 and I wish I had your naivety

[askagamedev]

I struggle a lot with level design, specially starting. How do experienced level designers do it on command? Whats their normal process for defeating the blank page and where to get ideas for what to put in a level?

My approach for initial level design is the same for as it is for system design - I start with the kind of experience I want the player(s) to have and the kind of feelings I want them to feel while engaging with my level. With those in mind, I can work my way backward from there by thinking about how I can craft a set of coherent places that will evoke the experience I want players to feel, and how I can connect those places with transitional spaces that draw the players through them. What feelings do I want to evoke in each place? What order do I want these feelings to be felt? What kind of overall theme do I want to tie the experience together?

First, let's consider the kind of physical places you've been to. Most places you've been consist of smaller places connected by transitional spaces. A house is a bunch of places (rooms) connected by transitions (doorways, hallways, staircases, etc.). A museum is a bunch of places (exhibits and exhibit halls, gift shop, foyer, etc.) connected by transitions. A school campus is a bunch of places (classrooms, offices, parking lots, quad) connected by transitions. Each of these places carry a sense of where and what it is, and people navigate those places by remembering where they are relative to each other, and which transitions from their current place connect to which other places and where. That sense of relative connection and orientation is also how players figure out how to navigate levels. With this in mind, we can consider initial level design.

I suggest trying to think of different themes and emotions you want to evoke with your level. A happy picnic in a park. A claustrophobic sewer. A spooky gothic mansion. A dream-like candy land. An enormously tall tree. A dilapidated robot factory. A derelict space station. Then, break it down into places you think belong within that kind of level theme - a spooky gothic mansion might have a fancy bedroom with a big four-poster bed, a massive hallway with suits of armor, a big kitchen, a ballroom, a banquet hall, a grand foyer, a dungeon, manicured hedges and a fountain outside, and so on. Finally, start thinking about how players will navigate from place to place within that level - where will you place the transitions so they will be able to progress through the level in the way you want? Once you've got these sketched out and connected, you've got a rough blueprint for your level.

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[paradoxcase]

Chapter 47 of Harrow the Ninth

Commander Wake's last thoughts, I guess? It's interesting that she could have chosen to save her own life by killing Gideon and didn't, especially since in the last chapter Mercy was talking about how she didn't care about family and didn't want to be a mother, and she doesn't seem like a motherly person, anyway, and she literally refers to Gideon as "the payload" here. Was Gideon's mere presence on Pluto meant to bring the plan to fruition somehow? Mercy definitely doesn't seem to think that worked out that way, but I don't know what Commander Wake was expecting to happen after she died, exactly

I'm not sure if he's trying to say here that she was haunted by a literal ghost, or haunted by a metaphorical ghost, or that going through that much bullshit fucks everyone up and she shouldn't be so hard on herself. Because I'm very interested to know if all those experiences were just due to her being haunted by literal ghost, personally

This is fun to contrast to Cytherea's recounting of this story back in Gideon the Ninth:

She makes it sound like they had some deep Seventh House heart-to-heart and Dulcinea was totally fine with this plan and didn't object to being killed at all. I love that we get to meet the real Dulcinea and find out that she does hate Cytherea just as much as everyone else does

Also, Harrow doesn't tell her this for some reason, but her lying about who her friends were did help Camilla figure it out, I think. Just not before she'd killed a bunch of people and Palamedes had figured it out by a different route

Who is she getting revenge on in this particular scenario, though? I don't think she really has a horse in this race. Cytherea is not here, John is not here, she doesn't have anything to do with Commander Wake and I don't think anyone in this scene actually knows who the Sleeper is at this point. Or does Dulcinea think that the Sleeper is Cytherea?

Is all the blood in the River bubble not actually real enough? Yes, it's all just a fake environment made of spirit, but like, other things in the bubble have been real enough to use for necromancy - the animal fat candles, or Harrow's bone chips, etc.

Does Harrow not recognize the suit? Gideon at least remembered the suit, but since Commander Wake's death wasn't actually all that relevant to Harrow and happened before she was born, maybe she was just never told about it. Did Wake then just randomly possess a sword that happened to be in the Ninth armory, and just by luck that sword was requested for Gideon? Only, when they were going through swords at the very beginning of Gideon the Ninth, all of them were old and rusted and unusable, so it would be probably somewhat remarkable for an actual good one to wind up in there, so maybe it does have some special history? Commander Wake almost certainly didn't actually have it on her when she died, she very much seems to prefer guns to gigantic swords

And Harrow always sensed that the sword was haunted, but Gideon never did, Gideon thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Is it just because Gideon has the necromantic ability of a brick, or did the sword being haunted by her mom actually draw her to it?

Is Harrow still interpreting her feelings about Gideon as just being like totally normal things to feel about you cavalier, and that's all that is, no romo, etc.?

It's definitely the sword

It's interesting that Wake calls them "wizards" and what they do "magic", you would think that BOE would really be playing up the evil necromancy angle here

So, I guess the ghosts can be killed permanently here, but since they're also imposing their own rules on the bubble, they can also survive things that should kill them in the real world with a strong enough belief, or will power, or something, like how Wake survived being shot multiple times by Marta?

This series sure does love long fights between people who technically can't die, I have to say it removes a lot of tension when so many people are immortal or otherwise unkillable

Can Wake actually exert her own rules on the bubble enough to make it possible to counter necromancy with guns?

I see. So Wake wants to take over Harrow's body, and presumably go kill John and end the whole war with a win for BOE. Or maybe she wants to resolve some shit with Mercy and Gideon the First as well, but I'm sure she also probably wants to kill John, and this book has been repeatedly promising that John will be murdered on every chapter header. I guess it was just perfect luck for Wake that the random sword she possessed wound up in Harrow's possession after she became a Lyctor and now she's on board the Mithraeum with everyone that Wake has unfinished business with?

I sense that Ortus is about to impose some hilarious new rule on the bubble, probably related to the Noniad

[koritea]

I designed some more SU ocs!! You'll have to forgive me for the brainrot I've become terribly attached to this silly show.

Casserite - or "The Executioner". They're designed to carry out the orders of their superiors (generally Diamonds, Emeralds, Sapphires, etc.) specifically to reset gems who are falling out of line.

This particular Casserite was under White Diamond's control for a few thousands years, and while she is no longer, her color and empathy have drained over the span of her possession.

Kyanite - The only known successful Cluster Gem out of all of Yellow Diamond's experiments. With the shards of a Pearl and a Lapis, they form an unstable fusion - the connected shards often react and cause glitches or involuntary poofing. Kyanite has little to no hydrokinesis and cannot summon a weapon. Separating the shards would kill them.

Prehite - A gem programmed to program. They calculate the best places to form kindergartens and which sections will create which gems - they generally work in tandem with Peridots and Lapis.

This Prehite is an off-color, though it's not noticeable at first glance. Their colors have the slightest hint of blue that sets them apart from the other's of their kind. They managed to avoid getting caught for years before a Peridot pointed them out. They fled, and crash landed on Earth.

Tanzanite - The second most rare gem of Homeworld, Tanzanites are regarded as the strongest and most valuable under the Diamonds. Known for their prowess in battle and leadership, they command Emeralds and legions of Jaspers and Quartz.

This Tanzanite was part of the original invasion of Earth. After learning of it's natural life she defected, hiding as a Holly Blue Agate until she could disappear.

Apatite - Apatites are architects. Working with Bismuths and Morganites, they used their holographic abilities and telekinesis to draw up precise plans for spires and difficult structures.

This Apatite was on a ship headed to another Gem Hub when a meteor hit his ship and he crashed on Earth. Initially an antagonist to the Crystal Gems, he came around to the idea of protecting earth after befriending a feral dog.

[ashalsdream]

GW2 Commander Zine qna

SO I’ve got a lot of questions already, I will be adding to this as I get more but thought I’d answer them as there are some repeat questions! 

What if I don’t have a commander character?

That’s completely okay! As long as you’re drawing an oc FROM guild wars 2, that’s acceptable too and you’re still welcome to apply! It can be your main, your favourite oc etc! as long as they’re from gw2! 

-

I’ve never been in a zine before, what is expected of me?

Firstly, I’m honoured you’d want to join this as your first zine! Secondly, for artists it will be a fully illustrated piece (Full shaded, full colour full body. it is up to you whether it includes just your oc or other ocs!). For writers it will be a fic of at least 3k words! It will need to have a beginning, middle and end - open ended fics are allowed! For other contributors it will be discussed with the individual 

-

Would there be a sought-after style for artists? What would that selection process look like?

there is not a specific style - as long as its a full illustration in your style, it counts! 

For the selection process, I’m aiming to have 5 moderators at minimum and each of us will vote on each application. Creators will be judged on multiple categories:  Can they complete this piece in time? Do they have completed examples that we can work with? Which race are they looking to create for/how many of this race do we have already? For each race I would like to have an equal amount of creators for all 5 - of course this will be up to how many apply but I want it to be equal and one race not favoured above the other! 

-

Will there be a central place for contributors to discuss, share ideas, and the like?

Yes! there will be a discord server

-

Estimated timeline?

at the current moment this is still to be decided! Mod applications will be opening next month, 3 weeks after will be contributor applications that will stay open for a month! Our final release date for the zine is aiming for valentine’s day

-

Will submissions be popularity-based like in other zines?

Absolutely not! Everyone will be given a fair chance and be judged on what they can create NOT their popularity - if you can show you can complete a piece for the zine in time for the deadline, you’re in! And for those that don’t get in, if it does well I’d love to do a volume 2 and you’d get first chance if you wanted in! 

-

I would be worried about the commanders being skewed in favor of one or two races over the others.

As I said above, this WILL NOT happen. I will be looking to have an equal amount for each race! This will depend on how many people apply and for what race they’d like to create for but I will be aiming for a balance between all 5! 

-

if anything is available physically, do you already have an idea how to manage production in a way that would keep shipping costs prices within acceptable range for everyone? (if production happens in the us shipping to europe is often far too expensive, that kind of thing)

-

In truth? No. I don’t. I will say I am from the UK so it will be shipping from the UK. However, If i don’t get a merch moderator to help me with things like this and is more experienced than I am,  it will be a digital only zine as I don’t want to make a promise that I can do this when I personally know I cannot. I have made merchandise in the past but with a project at this scale I don’t want to make a promise when I can’t guarantee it. 

-

What are the mods level of experience with running a zine and what will be the primary method of communication between mods and participants

Currently we don’t have a mods so I can’t fully answer this for when the mods are chosen however as the host: I have been a moderator for zines in the past & been a contributor for over 5 of them as well! The primary method of communication will be through discord. Acceptance/rejection letters will be through email! 

-

Are short comics (2-4 pages, or 1-2 spreads) allowed?

Absolutely! I’d love to see some comics! Go wild :D

[gynandromorph]

Hi, more Jessie questions (apologies if you got these before, I didn't scroll down to the initial post);

In the sushi comic Emily says Jessie could just go with 'that sushi' and get the sushi she wants, and I'm gonna assume that's true. But does that mean the power is relative, or is it based around Jessie? Let's say Jessie goes to a hardware store, and forgets what specific type of screws she needed to get. If she were to go 'those screws' will the power know what she is referring to, or will the power default to what it thinks she wants? If Jessie plum forgot about the screws and then remembered them in the parking lot, could she go 'get those screws' and have them appear in her bag, or would she have to go back into the hardware store for the power to understand the command? Or would Jessie have the clearance of mind to go 'make me remember what screws to get' and avoid this entire hypothetical?

And;

What happens if someone prays to Jessie? Abrahamic* prayer is really weird, because nobody tells you that a prayer is not a wish. From my own experience (Anglican, non-conformist and high church) people love talking about the impossible power of the thing above you, but not in a way that helps you think about communication with it. I've gotten a lot more out of prayer since following the Gods, because the Gods are, imo, humanities stewards, but both of us are controlled by the fates. Even if the prayer is honoured, fate can invalidate the reason for the prayer, and neither me nor the Gods can do anything about it. But the God is a sustainer, the reason why humanity is, so people treat it like a wish giver. If life goes well for you, than the God answered your wishes, and you pass that along as what prayer is. If the God does not answer your wishes, you did not pray hard enough. Accepting that the old god is not 1:1 the God, I assume prayer works in a similar way to our world. So how does this effect Jessie? Can she hear prayers? If she can, can she turn off the prayers or respond to them? Obviously Jessie is a bastard dirt creature, I love her for it, so can she just chose to fuck with someone by responding to their prayers 'wrong'?

And;

I love how you draw pogs so much. The sushi comic really made me think about it because holy shit, Jessie pog, but it's just something you're really good at drawing! There's a dupe picture from a while back of dupe and I think gray (?) Pogging at each other, and that dupe pog has become my default pog when I think of a pog. Just true Platonic ideal of a pog

Thrilling questions going on here. If I knew more about demonstratives, this would likely be easier to explain, but, if the audience gets it, the power "gets" it - for the most part. In the screw example, if Jessie had mentioned getting screws at the store, retrieving "those screws" after forgetting them would work, because the audience would understand what screws she is talking about. If she tried to refer to "those screws" to remember the screws, or learn what screws she needed, this wouldn't work, because she's trying to reference knowledge she and the story don't have. Similarly, she could invoke retrieving "those screws" for as long as it would register to a competent member of the audience. She could even get the right screws by looking at what she needs the screws for and then invoking "those screws." Another example is "that guy" -- Jessie usually specifies what "guy" she is referring to with a small identifying descriptor, because it won't work in a crowd. She could be referring to many guys. However, with only one other guy around, she could just say "that guy." On top of that, "a guy" can work. "A jogger" can work if there is only one person jogging in the vicinity, etc.

Second question: Jewish prayer actually does structure itself in a way that is like making a request to a king -- it would be rude to walk in and ask for a favor first, so it is sandwiched in between prayers that are only praise. I don't know about other forms of worship, but it is sometimes accounted for in a faith. I never like seeing Judaism lumped in with more general terms if it isn't accurate, so I have to nitpick. It's great that you brought up fate. Fate is

an important concept

in Idletry

which it goes great lengths to explore indirectly.

It is one of the core thematic concepts of the story, and consequently, I need to dance around it to avoid some of the biggest spoilers in Idletry. The way fate is described here, I would simply consider it another God which controls all else except, perhaps, itself. The story takes it a different direction, where I'd say that fate is uncontrollable, but also entirely controlled by the individual. As far as we know, Jessie isn't subject to inevitabilities such as fate. Tangents aside, the "prayers delivered through Twiddler arguments" bit is actual canon, so Jessie needs to be bored enough to check her Twiddler feed to even notice prayers. She listens to them directly at first, and quickly decides that is very overwhelming AND boring -- the Twiddler decree is not only for entertainment, but to force prayer to be easily turned on and off (for Jessie). She can also respond to them directly (on Twiddler, usually). She can and absolutely has fucked with people just because she didn't like what they prayed for, how they conveyed what they want, or I even have a joke where she responds to someone's prayer saying she won't help them because they don't have pronouns in bio. The snowglobe guy specifically argued with Jessie on Twiddler because she wouldn't acknowledge a particular prayer. The religious organization that springs up to worship her initially spends most of its time reviewing and refining the prayer formats of its congregants; it entices more people to join because wishes they post on Twiddler tend to be granted (or at least taken well). Am considering having them more involved in the handling of prayer later on, but there may simply not be enough time in the plot in between their introduction and Jessie going bitchcakes.

this pog takes up 50% of my language processing.

[granulesofsand]

Hi! Wanna ask if you don't mind

Tw: mention of programming ang flashbacks, lightly touching SA theme

1) is it possible to have only a little progs, like 1-3? Every hc system we know has A LOT and we're like... umm.. only silence, "know too much" and s-x prog? Like... not enoth /hj

2) can it be something else when prog, if

Search about ramcoa => trying to believe that it looks like us => BOOM convulsions and/or imitation of frictions + at least 7 alters talking at once, and we barely know 4 of them

Like... we mustn't be mc-survivours ("Him" ordered to say it) but this looks at least suspicious

I imagine so. Some groups can’t or won’t program further than a basic few; resources, age of victim, period of contact, tradition, don’t feel like it, etc.

It is not impossible to have symptoms that mimic active programs purely on imagination or unrelated memories, but it doesn’t do much good to dwell on that fact. You would need amazing replication skills to get there with no events, and any event is worth looking into.

Convincing yourselves that there are no memories is not conducive to doing memory work, and memory work has a policy of at least sitting with experiences.

It doesn’t matter if it happened or not, just that it has an impact on you. Proving abuse can be difficult, so it’s alright to move past that step unless you’re going to court about it.

Some groups focus more on conditioning than the community definition of programming. Some have conditions that don’t require either. You cannot be wrong for what was done to you, and you don’t have to rush finding out the details.

Short of immediate threat, you can move at your own pace to heal well. Alison Miller has some good books, but those do include examples that you might worry about drawing from. She does frequently describe talking to each other and rising through the chain of command.

It can be a long and slow process, but you should be gentle where you can. You’ll be okay no matter what you find, even if it’s hard.

[ninjaunderscore]

What are your headcanon of Evil wizard without hood apparence and of His forms a ball and a giant spider i like to see how he look His full body reference

Finally getting around to answering the year old asks LMAO anyways Ive gotten 2 asks about this so I broke them up into separate posts

I call the Evil Wizard 'Mandrin' which is a misspelling of Mandarin, reason being I joked about him being as small as a Mandarin orange, so with that out of the way ill be referring to him from now on!

Tbh I saw him as a troll, kinda like what the troll mom spawns in thieves forest/in the marsh? But lighter with the fur patterns like his spider form!! Hes just a little guy, heres an old ref of his unhooded look and his alt forms (theyre just the same imo, lmao)

I havent seriously drawn the ball form he has nor have I drawn his spider form since Im horrifically afraid of arachnids

His design is very different now but I haven't gotten around to drawing his ref sheet but it's the same thing, just different robes!

Heres him in my newer style!! hes just a full on spider creature

MASSIVE LORE DUMP AHEAD

Onto his head cannons about his forms:

I personally have an au where my head cannons take place because I absolutely adore lore building on this game

Mandrin wasnt originally evil, he was a part of a coven of high mages and such! They take the form of anthropomorphic creatures and try and keep the peace working with other kingdoms (flooded temple/Marsh, Castle Grey(Home Castle), Lava World, the Arctic, Sand Castle, etc etc yk)

Mandrin thought of a plan to take over the entire land, have everyone live in harmony in his own way and to have all the kingdoms respond to the high covens command (which he wanted to be in charge of) but that required essentially beating the kingdoms into submission. He was then cast out of the coven to be on his own, stripped from his title and role.

Mandarin was enraged and proceeded to take the situation into his own hands, training his own army with his own ideals to unite the world and be king of the lands.

Im not gonna go too far into his back story but thats how he started to be,,, well,,, himself.

Hes able to transform as Ive stated before, high powered mage, but he doesnt have a lot of experience so his powers are limited. This is why his spider form is very.... Unstable? Goopy, slimy, not right. He and his magic are very unstable to begin with and its just enhanced by the magical crystal he stole from the king.

[anneapocalypse]

WIP Whenever

Tagged by @crackinglamb, thank you!

Tagging: @rosella-writes @nirikeehan @dreadfutures @chocochipbiscuit @warpedlegacy @fivekoboldsinacoat @a-song-in-the-stillness @ineedmyknightcommander and anyone else who wants to share!

My word count has gone to pieces over the past week, but oh well. Here's some Tabriala! Get you a creepy old blood mage uncle. CW: mad sciencey blight experiments. Taint taint taint. Etc.

Talith's voice echoed off the stone walls when she spoke. "Avernus?"

The man did not turn around. "One moment, please. I'm in the middle of something quite precise." They had a rather long wait while the mage finished his task, and Briala took the opportunity to survey the laboratory more thoroughly. She noticed that the walls were lined with maps as well as other notes, and examining one of them more closely she found it to be a very detailed map of a portion of the Deep Roads—not as they were in the height of the empire, but as they were in the present, noting tunnels, cave-ins, and darkspawn-controlled areas.

At last, the old mage left his table and came down the short set of stairs to meet them, gesturing impatiently as he moved to another table. "Twenty-three minutes that mixture needs to rest. Now then. Your Wardens' Calling has been unnaturally induced."

Talith shook her head, cracking a smile as she followed. "Hello, Avernus."

"That is why you've come, isn't it, Commander? I've little patience for pleasantries in my advanced age, so you and your companion will have to forgive me. To the blood—" He flipped through a few pages of the book of notes before him. "Fortuitously, I've studied specimens from Wardens at every stage of the taint's advancement, and that data I have been able to compare with the samples provided by the Senior Warden and several volunteers. Blood and tissue samples…" He waves a hand. "Unimportant. What you must know is that the taint has not advanced naturally."

"What's natural about the darkspawn taint?" Talith said dryly.

"There is a typical progression," the old mage replied impatiently, "which I have observed in many subjects, over two centuries—" Briala raised an eyebrow. "These latest samples are anomalous… inconsistent with reported symptoms… unnatural, in a word."

"Avernus," Talith said urgently, leaning forward on the table, "What does it mean?"

Avernus looked up at last, meeting the Warden-Commander's eyes. "As I told the Senior Warden, without further data I cannot say. The advancement of the corruption is inconsistent with that of a Warden reaching their Calling—in short, they should not be hearing it Therefore, I propose some outside influence. The Senior Warden has been reticent to authorize field tests, and though he suspects the Wardens in Orlais may know more, he declines to make contact with them, thus making it impossible for me to draw any further conclusions." The old man paused, and for a moment Briala thought she saw a flicker of sympathy on his face. "I have abided by Nathaniel's wishes—as I have yours, Commander. Do not think me unconcerned. I would… not wish to see the Order depleted."

Talith cracked a smile. "Don't tell me you're getting attached."

"I am content to work in solitude," Avernus replied stiffly. "However, I shall confess that the recent company has not been… unwelcome."

"The Drydens don't come to the tower much, I suppose."

"They are sociable enough. Nonetheless, it has been… many years since I regularly had the company of fellow Wardens. Do not concern yourself, Commander. As I said, I am quite content."

"As you say, Avernus." Talith's brow furrowed in thought. "So… externally induced or not, is it… a real Calling? Will it… progress as a real Calling would?"

Avernus shook his head. "I lack the information to say. I am sorry, Commander."